Signed to Heart Dance Records, Eddy Ruyter is a Toronto-based keyboardist, guitarist, and composer whose résumé is exceptionally impressive. He has a master’s degree in composition and a bachelor’s degree in contemporary music. He’s played huge stages—think the Grammys, Saturday Night Live, Wembley Stadium, Rock in Rio—alongside Shawn Mendes, Miley Cyrus, John Mayer, Ed Sheeran, Camila Cabello, Khalid, Demi Lovato, and the Jonas Brothers.
Growing up in Toronto, music was everywhere for Ruyter. With access to strong school programs, endless creative opportunities, and a city filled with talented musicians to learn from, he was able to fully immerse himself in music.
“I’ve always loved music,” he shares. “I was probably six years old when I started doing piano lessons. It was just kind of something that was always an interest. It was always there.”
By the time he reached high school, his interest had turned into an obsession. Between inspiring teachers, a supportive group of friends, and an old computer tucked away in a practice room, Ruyter spent his spare moments recording and experimenting.
“We had this old crappy computer in a practice room that you could book out. It had some recording software on it, and I would spend all my time there. That really got me going down that path.”
Ruyter’s first tour, with his pop-punk band, was somewhat different from the touring lifestyle he leads now. Their trip was delayed by almost a full day due to van trouble, which caused some chaos at the start of the experience. “I remember the first one [tour] got pushed back and part of me was like, maybe it’d be better if we just stay home,” he admits. But once the van was fixed and the tour was underway, his mindset changed. “Honestly, it was the most fun. It was the best thing. I fell in love with it. I was like, I’m so glad this happened because it so easily could have fell through,” he says.
These days, touring can take the form of adjusting to the rhythm of a crowded bus tour that travels from city to city or bouncing between time zones for festivals, award shows, and TV appearances.
“You’ll have days where you don’t see the sunlight at all because you’ll go from one venue basement underground parking lot, sleep in the bus overnight, and then wake up in the next city in an underground basement parking lot.”
Yet, for Ruyter, the magic has never faded and it’s because he gets to be surrounded by his best friends every day. “It makes all the difference who you are traveling with,” he says. “I’ve been very, very lucky that all these years it’s been my best friends.”
One of his most meaningful career moments came at the close of a major chapter: the final show of Shawn Mendes’ 2019 world tour in Mexico City. “Looking back at what happened after with COVID and not touring for a couple years, it was really like a closing of a chapter,” he reflects. “I loved that tour and everyone on it. We got to see the world. Starting with Shawn was nothing I could have ever imagined. Even though there were several tours between that one and when I started, it was all so encompassing from 2016 to the end of 2019 that it all felt like one big chapter. It felt like we really did the thing that we set out to do — and that show in particular was just really magical for me.”
Off the road, Ruyter is just as busy. His artistry is heard in his own solo projects, including his most recent album Waves, as well as on recording’s by artists such as Delaney Jane, Cian Ducrot, Julien Kelland, Kim Davis, and Tim Hicks. Though a huge part of his career is centered around touring, he explains that writing and creating with other artists is a very different experience than writing for himself. “Most of my career as a touring musician is I’m handed stems or parts of songs and it’s like, ‘Okay, learn this — how can we arrange it to make the live show more extravagant?” he explains. When writing and composing for others, he often offers multiple different directions, understanding that “what resonates with me might not resonate with them.” Writing for himself, however, has opened up an entirely new creative lane. “It’s a cool kind of freedom,” he says. “There are so many less rules…it’s just me. I’ve kind of just been like, ‘Okay, well, what do I like? What do I want to do?’ and the label has been super supportive.”
As for the tools he likes to create on, Ruyter shares: “I think for me, having a keyboard that is very hands-on was a game changer.” He favors instruments that let him physically manipulate sound in real time in an era when screens and pre-programmed menus rule. “Having an actual synth or organ or something like that where there is a specific knob that does something or a specific draw bar — you’re like, ‘Oh, this does this. This is why this record has this sound on it’,” he says. He shares that his go-to keyboard is the Nord Stage 2, which he uses as his main board on tour and relies on it for nearly all of his recordings.
Ruyter’s love for the piano began as a little kid sitting on a piano bench, writing a song about apples, which he now laughs was “probably a banger,” and has grown into a career performing in front of thousands of people. His journey shows how far hard work and curiosity can take you, and reminds us that sometimes the quietest players are the ones shaping the future of music.
For anyone hoping to follow in a similar path, Ruyter’s advice is this: “Take every opportunity you can. Dive in,” he says. “So much of this industry is community based,…you learn through the people you meet and other musicians you play with.” Whether that means sharing your art online, reaching out to artists you look up to, or attending open mic nights, just simply showing up can change everything. “Start doing the thing,” he adds. “The more people you are around, the more rewarding it is in the first place, and the further you can go with it.”
Keep up with Eddy Ruyter: Website // Instagram // X // Apple Music // Spotify
