Artworks Inspire Chicago Musician Ryan Burns

WDCB’s Gary Zidek talks to singer-songwriter Ryan Burns about his album THE INSTITUTE and his upcoming performances as part of ChillFest.

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WDCB's Gary Zidek sits down with singer-songwriter Ryan Burns to talk about art-inspired album THE INSTITUTE and his upcoming performances at ChillFest.

“Earlier on, when I was writing, I always wrote the music first, and then the lyrics were a struggle, and a slog of what is this song about. When I was getting into The Institute, I was having trouble coming up with those initial ideas, so it was a good way for me to have an inspiration where I didn’t need to just pick something out of the ether.” - Ryan Burns talking about his songwriting process for his debut EP, THE INSTITUTE.

Ryan Burns at WDCB studios

Each of the five songs on Ryan Burns’ debut EP, THE INSTITUTE, was inspired by a piece of art inside the Art Institute. Francesco Mochi’s BUST OF A YOUTH sculpture and the 13th century YANG PU MOVING HIS FAMILY are among the works used for inspiration.

Pierre Bonnard’s EARTHLY PARADISE was the first Art Institute painting that Burns wrote a song about.

Burns is part of the line-up for the 7th annual Wicker Park-Bucktown CHILLFEST which is coming up on Saturday February 8. The winter music fest showcases over 30 musicians playing free 1-hour acoustic sets at various stores throughout Wicker Park and Bucktown. Burns has two sets on Saturday one at the Den Theatre and one at the Yeti store. You can find a complete schedule and more information about CHILLFEST here.

Check out Ryan Burns’ website burnsband.com