Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan Boos.
Hi Ryan , it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Ryan Boos is a multidisciplinary artist working across writing, visual art, and music. His creative practice weaves together sound, image, and language to explore themes of spirituality, perception, and transformation.
In 2012, he founded Hazy Acres, originally conceived as a platform for underground artists. Over time, it evolved into an experimental writing space for his own poetry and prose—serving as a hub for creative expression and expansion. To date, he has written over 500 poems and continues to explore words and how they fit together.
Musically, Boos is best known for his project Nomadic Firs, under which he has released several full-length albums. His work has been remixed by a diverse group of artists, most notably the Grammy Award–winning duo ODESZA. His sonic palette blends lo-fi textures, ambient pop, and electronic experimentation, with much of his vocal work rooted in improvisation.
He has also composed music for film and produces under the side project Open Channel, releasing two EPs and a series of singles that push his sound into more atmospheric and instrumental territories.
As a visual artist, Boos works at the intersection of painting, photography, collage, and text. He digitally manipulates original and found materials to create layered, immersive images that reflect an open and exploratory approach to design.In 2025, he expanded his visual practice by launching the Etsy shop Healers Canvas. Almost all of the album covers and imagery for the music project Nomadic Firs is by Ryan.
Boos began his journey in the arts as a promoter and DJ in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he organized The Reggae Sound System and co-founded independent production collectives. Focused on house, techno, and dub, these events became a catalyst for ongoing collaborations within the underground music scene.
Currently, he co-founded POET Knoxville with other local artist, (John Moses, Bean Gast, and Tolo Quiggle). POET is a monthly poetry reading and workshop centered on original written works, fostering community and live literary exchange.
Boos began venturing into music at 19. Although he grew up surrounded by it—his grandfather was a trumpet player, his great-grandfather played clarinet, and his uncle was a singer-songwriter—it took time for him to claim his own path.
As a child, he attended Macedonian dances with his family, where music felt communal and alive. His maternal family’s Macedonian heritage deeply shaped his early connection to rhythm, celebration, and sound.
From a young age, he was drawn to being an artist—not simply as something one makes, but as a way of living. For Boos, art is a lens through which to think, approach situations, and contribute to the collective energy of the world. As a kid, he spent hours in his room making mixtapes, crafting edits with the pause button on a boombox.
Shortly after high school, while beginning college, he started attending raves in Detroit and Chicago. He quickly fell in love with house music and DJ culture. By age 20, he launched his first music venture, The Reggae Sound System, blending dub, roots, and dancehall. From there, he began playing guitar and singing improvisationally, which eventually led him into music production and the development of his own original projects.
Never confined to one medium, Boos continues to explore across disciplines—following curiosity wherever it leads and allowing each form to inform the next.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
For me, the rough edges are what make this life as an artist what it is. The work grows and breathes in the spaces that aren’t easy. My life has felt like an ongoing transition from one experience to the next. For a long time, I believed transition meant instability or loss — something to endure rather than embrace. Over the years, I’ve come to understand how essential those seasons are. They signify change, growth, and exploration.
With every transition, something falls away as something new arrives. There is loss in that, but there is also expansion.
A few years ago, I made a significant pivot in my life. I began focusing intentionally on my health, committing to a yoga practice rooted in spiritual connection. I expanded ritual into a daily way of living and chose a sober path.
That shift reshaped not only my lifestyle, but my creative process as well. It deepened my awareness, sharpened my discipline, and grounded my work in something more intentional and aligned.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a multidisciplinary artist working across writing, visual art, and music. My creative practice weaves together sound, image, and language to explore themes of spirituality, perception, and transformation.
I’m perhaps best known for my music under Nomadic Firs, which has reached beyond the Knoxville area, but I’m most proud of my body of work as a whole. I’ve been creating for a long time, and the work continues to evolve and expand. I still get genuinely excited about new projects and conversations around creativity.
I’ve never worked in just one medium—each form has its own place, and together they create a larger ecosystem. Over the last year, I’ve found more solid ground in community. Being part of the collective that brought POET to life locally has been a true highlight. I’m also energized by Healers Canvas, my Etsy shop focused on design and visual work, which has opened a new avenue for creative expression.
Giving back has become an important extension of my practice. I offer creativity coaching and mentorship, helping others unlock their voice, refine their ideas, and build sustainable creative momentum. Supporting other artists and thinkers feels like a natural continuation of the work I do myself.
What sets me apart is my ability to focus deeply and execute while continuing to generate fresh, resonant ideas. I have an endlessly creative mind—and it shows in both the range and consistency of my work.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My brother has been a constant believer in me as an artist, creating a sense of ease and safe passage through his acceptance, love, and openness to this journey. My sister, too, has been a steady source of support and encouragement, offering her own kind of strength and care along the way. My friends from back home in Michigan.
I’m deeply grateful for my collaborators in POET and the community at Hummingbird Apothecary Knoxville, who have welcomed the work with open arms. Their enthusiasm and support have made space for creativity to flourish locally. While that chapter is still unfolding, their encouragement has already grounded and affirmed the work in a shared, communal way.
I’m also grateful to my parents, who in their own way have grown to see me more clearly and embrace that more with time. Without them, the larger hiccups in life would have felt much heavier.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hazyacres.com
- Other: https://healerscanvas.etsy.com
Image Credits
Mountain Photo of me wearing a blanket was taken by local artist and musician Matt Honkonen.
