Kyle Riabko

Kyle Riabko is a Canadian musician, composer, and actor born on 29 September 1987 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He began performing at age 10 and by age 12 was touring Eastern Canada as a member of the band Bluesway Express. During his junior year of high school, Riabko launched an international music career, touring as an opening act for artists including B.B. King, James Brown, John Mayer, Delta Goodrem, Buddy Guy, The Pussycat Dolls, Keb Mo, and Jason Mraz. In 2003, he signed a five-year recording contract with Aware/Columbia Records.

His debut full-length album, Before I Speak, was released on 19 April 2005, several months before his high school graduation. Riabko wrote every song on the record and played both guitar and bass. The album featured contributions from former Prince drummer Michael Bland, former Grapes of Wrath keyboardist Vince Jones, and guest vocals from Liz Phair and Robert Randolph. John Mayer provided an uncredited contribution to guitar arrangements on the track "Carry On." Before I Speak was co-produced by Riabko alongside Matt Wallace and Chris Burke-Gaffney, with the majority of recording taking place at Sound City in Los Angeles. Two tracks, "Before I Speak" and "Doesn't Get Much Better," were recorded in Riabko's bedroom at his parents' home. Three singles were released from the album: "Carry On," "Do You Right," and "What Did I Get Myself Into." Prior to the album's release, a six-track EP was issued that included two songs not found on the full-length record, "Estrogen" and "I Don't Know."

In March 2007, Riabko released The Duo EP: Volume 1, a six-track disc recorded with Dylan Hermiston. That same September, he joined Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers on tour as a replacement for second guitarist Chris Soucy. Riabko and Boots Factor of that band subsequently collaborated on a side project called Trevor Jackson, releasing a digital album together; the duo released a second album in 2010. On 15 September 2008, Riabko released The Parkdale Sessions, the first full-length album on his own label, Okbair Ltd., featuring ten tracks including two drawn from his time in Spring Awakening. In 2017, he released the EP Holding My Breath.

Riabko's Broadway career spanned 2006 to 2009, with credits including Spring Awakening and Hair. On 23 May 2008, he replaced Jonathan Groff in the lead role of Melchior Gabor in the Broadway production of Spring Awakening. He departed the Broadway company on 2 August 2008 to join the national tour, where he continued in the same role until 28 June 2009. His journey from Toronto to New York City to take on the role was documented in the 2009 television documentary Kyle Riabko: The Lead, directed by Jeff Newman. Riabko subsequently replaced Gavin Creel as Claude in the Tony Award-winning revival of Hair, with performances beginning 9 March 2010 under a one-year contract with the Broadway company.

In 2013, Riabko starred in What's It All About? Bacharach Reimagined at the New York Theatre Workshop, a production directed by choreographer Steven Hoggett that featured his own arrangements of the music of Burt Bacharach. He later brought the production to London, first to The Menier Chocolate Factory and then to The Criterion Theatre in the West End, where it was retitled Close To You: Bacharach Reimagined. In the summer of 2016, Ghostlight Records released the original London cast recording of the show. Riabko followed the album release with solo concert performances in New York City, Los Angeles, and Saskatoon.

Riabko has also worked in film and television, including a recurring role as Ian in 90210 across nine episodes from 2010 to 2011, a role in the series Instant Star in 2008, and a two-episode guest appearance in the Netflix series Soundtrack in 2019. His film credits include Cinema Verite, in which he played Jackie Curtis, and the short film Bench Seat, based on a segment from Neil LaBute's play Autobahn. On 6 December 2017, Riabko married Irish actress and singer Stephanie McKeon, whom he met through Bacharach Reimagined. The couple announced in February 2023 that they were expecting their first child, a son who was born that July.