It was July 2004, the first time that Ryan Weaver had gone out with his friends in almost six months. He was going to see Jeffrey Steele perform at a local club in Alabama. Music had always been an outlet and an escape for Ryan Weaver, and tonight Ryan needed music to help fill the empty space in his heart caused by the loss of his brother, Aaron, who died only months before while serving in Iraq when they were both deployed there. During Steele’s set he performed a song titled “Nineteen,” and Ryan’s tears began to fall as Steele poignantly sang about the boy next door who joined the military and died in combat at the age of nineteen. The song touched Ryan, and he shared his story with Steele when he met him in the autograph line after the show: Born in St. Petersburg, Florida, Ryan Weaver was adopted along with his brother Aaron and became the youngest of three Weaver boys. Older brothers Steve and Aaron joined the military and attended flight school. When his time came, Ryan followed in their footsteps. It was at Fort Rucker, Alabama in November 2001 that the Weaver boys were together for the last time. The family gathered for Ryan’s flight school graduation (top of his class), and when his name was announced, his two brothers pinned on his wings. Three Weavers. Three Army Warrant Officers. Three helicopter pilots. On January 8, 2004, the Weavers lost Aaron when the Black Hawk Medivac helicopter he was a passenger in was shot down by enemy fire. The Weaver family understood mortality and were accustomed to risk, or at least the threat of it. After all, Aaron had survived the bloody 1993 battle in Mogadishu, Somalia that became the basis for the movie Black Hawk Down. When Aaron died, however, the idea of a soldier’s death became reality. Understandably, Ryan Weaver was conflicted by the loss of his brother. Aaron had been shot down while riding in a Black Hawk, the same type of helicopter that Ryan piloted. Ryan knew he couldn’t look back to the troop seats of his Black Hawk again without envisioning what his brother must have gone through. After returning from combat, Ryan Weaver took a position teaching and training the next generation of Army aviators and technical warrant officers at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Despite the fact that it has been over 4 years since the death of Aaron Weaver, Chief Warrant Officer Ryan Weaver has not piloted a Black Hawk since that fateful day. Although he always loved music, in the years following Aaron’s death, Ryan relied more on writing and performing as an outlet for his emotions and escape from the reality of a haunting loss. Ryan was first exposed to music when he learned to play violin in the fourth grade. He sang for the first time in sixth grade as the lead in his school’s production of Scrooge. While stationed at various military bases around the US, Ryan was a regular at local karaoke bars and talent contests. When he was deployed to Iraq in 2003, Ryan found the inspiration to really focus on his song writing. After returning, Ryan focused on performing as well. He was runner up in a Military Idol competition and even won a slot opening for the legendary George Jones. Now stationed at Fort Rucker, Ryan spends all his weekends and free time performing at fairs, festivals and clubs in the Southeastern United States. He is a charismatic and energetic performer. There is a sincerity to everything he says and does, and that comes across on stage. His brother’s sacrifice is always with him and it is what drives him. “I want to enjoy life to its fullest, live every minute like it is the last and give my audience that same experience,” says Ryan. In the last year, he began traveling to Nashville on a regular basis to write and record his music. It was on one of those trips to Music City that Ryan re-connected with Jeffrey Steele. “I got a meeting with Jeffrey which, to me, was surreal,” recalls Weaver. “Jeffrey remembered meeting me at that concert in Alabama [over three years ago] and remembered my story. He agreed to meet with me.” As fate would have it, Steele not only met with Ryan Weaver but agreed to produce him. “I am so grateful and blessed to be mentored by one of the most talented writers, artists, and producers in country music,” says Weaver. “He has inspired me to become a better singer, writer and performer. When you sit and talk to him, he’s real and he makes you want to be the best you can possibly be. With Aaron’s death fueling my fire and Jeffrey Steele believing that I’ve got what it takes to make it in this business, the sky is the limit for me!” Twice this year Jeffrey Steele has given Ryan the coveted “opening slot” at Steele’s sold out shows in the Nashville area and has been producing Ryan in the recording studio. The first song they recorded together was “Nineteen.”