If you think you know Ryan O’Reilly, think again.
The Nashville Predators center has spent 17 years building one of the more respected careers in the NHL. But somewhere between road trips and practice, he and his childhood hockey buddy Kelly James have been quietly building something completely different: a kids music project called Mac N Cheeze.
It started, as many great ideas do, at a Raffi concert. O’Reilly took his son, came home inspired, and he and James started writing silly songs on guitar. His wife Dayna eventually convinced him to record them properly, and one thing led to another until the two found themselves in a Nashville studio with Thomas Rhett’s drummer producing their debut album.
That album, Pizza Party, drops April 10th. The track list includes a song about flushing called “Bye Bye Mr. Poo” featuring City and Colour’s Dallas Green, a tune about an Irish pirate with a wooden hockey stick for a leg, and a character named Elvis the chicken. It is exactly as good as it sounds.
The best part? O’Reilly’s Predators teammates found out about the project and started playing “Pizza Party” as the team’s victory song in the locker room. He walked in after a win and heard his own kids album blasting at full volume while his NHL teammates jammed out.
A portion of proceeds goes to foster care, music charities, and youth sports programs, so the whole thing is also genuinely good. Animated videos, merch, toys, and even a TV show are already in the works.
Nashville keeps proving it has room for every kind of musician, even ones who moonlight as NHL forwards.
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