Ryan and Rory

About Ryan and Rory

It took just one phone call for Ryan Keith Follesé (fall-uh-zay) and Rory John Zak to decide they were meant to be musical partners.

Ryan placed that call to Rory after a mutual music-business friend, Liz Morin, suggested the two consider working together. “It was like having your aunt set you up with someone”, Ryan remembers. “Before long, I thought, ‘Oh my God, my aunt’s right — this is the person.’”

Two hours later, they hung up as the duo Ryan & Rory.

The music Ryan & Rory have been creating since then proves that their first impressions were spot on. Ryan’s proficient songwriting and powerhouse voice fit hand in glove with Rory’s incredible musicianship and vocals that blend yet command attention. Rory also possesses the rare ability of “perfect pitch”, the ability to identify a musical note without any reference.

But let’s back up. That phone call may have been the start of Ryan & Rory, but the pair separately put years of hustle and dedication into their careers before coming together.

Ryan is the son of country songwriters Adrienne and Keith Follesé. Keith co-wrote Tim McGraw’s double-platinum #1 single “Something Like That,” Faith Hill’s crossover hit “The Way You Love Me,” and Lonestar’s chart-topper “Smile.” Together, the couple co-wrote Martina McBride’s 1999 hit “I Love You,” a five-week #1.

“When I was growing up, I wanted to write my way out of their shadow,” says Ryan, who tried to do that as frontman of the Nashville-based pop-rock band Hot Chelle Rae. The group signed to RCA Records, scored a #1 song (2011’s “Tonight, Tonight”), won an American Music Award, and toured the world — but when they broke up, Ryan faced a crossroads. He could become a full-time songwriter for others, or he could take those songwriting skills and his proven voice and lean into what he grew up knowing best: country music.

“When I was younger, I thought if you decided to be a songwriter, you were giving up on being an artist — and now, I realize that it’s not giving up, it’s really digging in,” says Ryan. “The best artists are great songwriters, too, ‘cause nobody’s gonna tell your story like you.”

Rory, meanwhile, has been playing piano since he was a toddler growing up in Raleigh, N.C. By 17, though, he reached his own dilemma: As plans for college were starting to take shape, the Carolina Opry in Myrtle Beach invited him to be their youngest-ever full-time lead singer.

“I knew from a really young age that music was what I wanted to do, and I was gonna make that happen regardless,” he says. “But at that moment, it was a very tough choice. Should I do college now and start my music career later — or should I skip college to start my career right at that moment? I decided to bet on myself. Thank God my parents agreed.”

Since 2017, Rory has played more than 300 shows each year. He spent four years performing with the Carolina Opry six nights a week and has continued at that pace since striking out on his own in 2021.

Now both living in Nashville, Ryan & Rory have finished their first EP, slated for release this spring. The process of writing, recording, and rehearsing has shown them that their individual strengths create something together that neither could have created individually.

“Rory is a world-class musician, a really good writer, and a grounded, solid guy,” says Ryan. “I couldn’t have found a more perfect partner if I spent years trying.”

Ryan co-wrote each of the EP’s six songs — three with his family — and Rory elevated their arrangements and performance. Track by track, their vocal harmonies shine as they narrate comfort cocktails that sound remarkably like both classic and modern country.

“Pour Decisions” is the perfect companion for a post-breakup night out, a nod to the universal heartache band-aid that is a good old-fashioned night of drinking. “Drunk and Lonely” also celebrates healing the heartache, but as a two-step singalong featuring dirt-floor dancehall vibes and Rory’s honky-tonk piano that would make Brooks & Dunn proud. “It’s got this time change at the end — something that doesn’t happen often in a country song,” says Rory. “But it wouldn’t turn being ‘drunk and lonely’ into a whole lot of fun without it.” Adds Ryan, “I wanted to write something I thought Ronnie Dunn would love.”

Indeed, Brooks & Dunn and other ‘90s and 2000s country radio staples are major influences on Ryan & Rory, who take cues from what was popular when they were growing up. The era’s story-songs, in particular, were an inspiration to Ryan. “That’s the reason that I love country music,” he says.

The woeful “Cowboy Cry” is a classic she-done-him-wrong song, one in which she actually does all the cowboys wrong and disappears “by the sun coming up.” “The State I’m In” is a rockin’ tale of regret that comes from chasing a lover across the country. “I drove through corn and cotton states / I changed my life / I changed my plates,” sings Ryan, only to find out that the entire journey of passion was a dead end.

Then there’s “Thanks Mama,” Ryan’s most personal composition on the EP, which he co-wrote with his dad and brother as a surprise for his mom. Her advice narrates the track: “Don’t brag when your team is winnin’ / Never politic at Thanksgivin’ / Yes sir, yes ma’am, it’s a given / Put your sunscreen on, or you’ll fry like chicken.” On first listen, it instantly made her cry — high praise from a fellow songwriter.

Another highlight of the EP, “This Town,” is a celebration of small-town dreams and the freedom that
comes when you go after them with your partner riding shotgun and “get way on out where the lost get
found / The two of us breaking brand-new ground.” It could also be a mission statement for Ryan & Rory,
who years ago took separate leaps of faith to pursue their dreams and now find themselves confidently
riding that faith in each other.