Ron Pope has spent more than two decades writing songs about the complicated moments that make us human. On September 8, that journey came alive onstage at City Winery St. Louis.
From the moment Pope took the stage, there was an unmistakable energy in the room. He moved easily between heartfelt songs, stories and humor, creating the kind of connection that made the audience feel less like spectators and more like part of the evening. Whether delivering an emotional lyric or sharing a laugh between songs, Pope brought an intensity and sincerity that carried throughout the performance.
It was fitting for an artist whose career has been built on connection.
Long before Pope became known around the world for “A Drop in the Ocean,” he was simply a young musician trying to find his place. Born in New Jersey and raised in Georgia, Pope eventually attended NYU, where music began taking center stage. He played in bands, worked regular jobs and performed wherever he could.
Ron Pope. Photo credit: Thomas Blue
There was no guaranteed record deal or carefully constructed career plan.
There was simply a songwriter determined to keep going.
That determination eventually led Pope to MySpace, where his music began reaching listeners far beyond the small rooms and subway platforms where he once performed. “A Drop in the Ocean” became his signature song, eventually selling millions of copies and reaching billions of streams.
But for Pope, the song’s success has become about far more than numbers.
“When a song is brand new, it’s just yours,” Pope said. “Then you put it out into the world and it belongs to everyone.”
He remembers writing the song while working as a security guard in an overpriced jeans store and playing music on subway platforms to help pay his bills.
“I feel like it’s an old friend,” he said of the song today. “I’m proud to sing it every night because I know what it means to people.”
That relationship between artist and audience was especially evident at City Winery. Pope performed with the energy of someone who still loves the simple act of getting onstage, even after decades on the road.
“I love getting on stage,” he said. “The connection with folks. The coming together of all these people who might have differences in their regular lives but for this one night, we’re a community.”
That sense of community has always been important to Pope, and his own experiences helped shape the songwriter he became.
As a student at NYU, Pope joined a songwriting circle where he formed friendships that would have a lasting impact on both his music and his understanding of the world. One of those friendships was with songwriter Julie Loyd, whose deeply personal music helped Pope understand that specificity and honesty could still connect with people whose experiences were very different from his own.
“When you’re a twenty-year-old boy from Georgia who wants to be a songwriter, joining a gang of Lesbians in New York City might not seem like the most obvious move,” Pope joked. “But the friendships that I built in that time played an enormous part in my education as a musician and as a human being.”
Pope believes surrounding yourself with people whose lives are different from your own can help create art that reaches beyond your own experiences.
“Difference can be scary in the abstract,” he said. “But up close, we’re all walking the same path.”
That philosophy can be heard throughout Pope’s catalog. His songs may begin with his own experiences—love, heartbreak, family, uncertainty and growing older—but listeners often find their own stories within them.
“I believe that a song isn’t really ‘about’ what I think it’s about as the writer,” Pope said. “For you, it’s about whatever you think it’s about.”
That ability to make personal experiences feel universal has remained at the heart of his songwriting.
Pope admits that music also helped him when he was younger.
“I was a strange, lonely kid,” he said. “Music made me feel less alone and less weird.”
Today, helping other people feel less alone remains one of his biggest goals as an artist.
His career has evolved considerably since those early years. The young musician who once played subway platforms and struggled to afford a meal is now a husband and father with a catalog that has reached millions around the world.
But Pope says he still carries the lessons of those difficult early days.
After recalling a freezing night busking in New York City, broke and hungry, Pope remembered reaching a breaking point before deciding to continue.
“If you keep on down the road, there’s a chance you’ll succeed,” he said. “But if you quit, there’s no chance.”
That refusal to quit has carried him through more than twenty years of making music.
Looking ahead, Pope is keeping his plans open. He expects to eventually return to writing for another album and is also looking toward the 20th anniversary of his first solo album, Daylight. He hopes to continue touring and performing in places he has yet to play, including Red Rocks, Madison Square Garden and international destinations.
But when asked what matters most over the next five years, Pope’s answer was simple.
“My daughter won’t be such a little girl anymore in five years,” he said. “As much as I can, I want to be home with my wife and our child, because without that, the rest of this feels pretty pointless to me.”
For now, however, Pope continues doing what he has always done: getting onstage, sharing songs and creating a community for a few hours wherever the road takes him.
At City Winery St. Louis, that connection was impossible to miss.
Ron Pope brought heart, humor, storytelling and an undeniable energy to the stage, reminding the audience that even after two decades and billions of streams, the power of a song still comes down to something simple: making someone feel like they are not alone.
And judging by the energy inside City Winery on September 8, Pope is still very good at doing exactly that.
