Bio
I learned to play guitar and piano at the age of 7. My father taught me a few chords on the guitar, and I took piano lessons for about 6 years. I enjoyed playing music at a young age and would try to be creative even back then and write my own music. When I was about 11 or 12, I remember taking a tape recorder and recording some songs with my guitar and I had always thought it would be great to have my own professional album.
In high school I was in band, choir, jazz band, chamber singers, and boys' quartet. I received the "Louis Armstrong Jazz Award" my senior year. It was also during this time I started my own rock band with a few buddies of mine at school. We played a couple gigs and recorded a few demos, but didn't pursue it seriously.
After high school I attended college where again I was in band, jazz band, and male chorus. I left school early though, and returned home where I self-produced a couple CD's. A local station in the Brainerd, MN area played a couple tracks off that disc.
It was at this time that I somehow ended up working in radio. I needed a job and saw an ad in the local paper for a sports broadcaster on the local radio station, where the general manager was actually a friend of my fathers. So I got the job. Soon I moved to the music side of radio. I started off as a DJ on some rural Minnesota radio stations and eventually ended up working in radio as a DJ for a country station near the Twin Cities. I re-located to the area to be close to work. For many years I hosted a weekly radio show which featured local Minnesota music. In late 2014, I started working for one of the biggest and most well-known radio stations in Minnesota - KQRS.
It wasn't until 2007 that I decided to pursue my music career seriously. The first gig I played was at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis. I also started playing at places like the Fine Line Music Cafe and some other Dinkytown venues.
One thing I was missing though was a current demo. I decided to self-produce a 5 song EP to take with me to my shows. I had learned a lot about music production after working in radio, so this demo turned out a lot better quality that my first ones. In fact, all 5 of the songs on the EP have been played on multiple radio stations in the U.S. and around the world. It has also been released on itunes and over 40 online music retailers.
Over the next few years things started to pick up for me musically. I began to play regular gigs at the Minnesota State Fair, and also doing some national anthem gigs, one time singing the anthem at Target Center before a MN Timberwolves basketball game in front of 19,000 people.
I also put together a backup band to play with me at some of the larger shows. We began to do some outdoor festivals and county fairs, while still continuing my solo gigs each week.
One huge event happened for me in 2012, when I won the "Most Promising New Artist" award from the Independent Country Music Association in Nashville, TN.
In 2013, I signed on with and indie record label out of Oklahoma, Tate Music Group. I worked with them to produce a full length, 10 song album, "Come And Get It." The CD is a great mix of styles with everything from hard rock, to country, to R&B , to hip-hop, and more. I am currently working on marketing and promoting this new album.
Look for a lot more great things to come in the near future for Benjamin Raye!
In high school I was in band, choir, jazz band, chamber singers, and boys' quartet. I received the "Louis Armstrong Jazz Award" my senior year. It was also during this time I started my own rock band with a few buddies of mine at school. We played a couple gigs and recorded a few demos, but didn't pursue it seriously.
After high school I attended college where again I was in band, jazz band, and male chorus. I left school early though, and returned home where I self-produced a couple CD's. A local station in the Brainerd, MN area played a couple tracks off that disc.
It was at this time that I somehow ended up working in radio. I needed a job and saw an ad in the local paper for a sports broadcaster on the local radio station, where the general manager was actually a friend of my fathers. So I got the job. Soon I moved to the music side of radio. I started off as a DJ on some rural Minnesota radio stations and eventually ended up working in radio as a DJ for a country station near the Twin Cities. I re-located to the area to be close to work. For many years I hosted a weekly radio show which featured local Minnesota music. In late 2014, I started working for one of the biggest and most well-known radio stations in Minnesota - KQRS.
It wasn't until 2007 that I decided to pursue my music career seriously. The first gig I played was at the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis. I also started playing at places like the Fine Line Music Cafe and some other Dinkytown venues.
One thing I was missing though was a current demo. I decided to self-produce a 5 song EP to take with me to my shows. I had learned a lot about music production after working in radio, so this demo turned out a lot better quality that my first ones. In fact, all 5 of the songs on the EP have been played on multiple radio stations in the U.S. and around the world. It has also been released on itunes and over 40 online music retailers.
Over the next few years things started to pick up for me musically. I began to play regular gigs at the Minnesota State Fair, and also doing some national anthem gigs, one time singing the anthem at Target Center before a MN Timberwolves basketball game in front of 19,000 people.
I also put together a backup band to play with me at some of the larger shows. We began to do some outdoor festivals and county fairs, while still continuing my solo gigs each week.
One huge event happened for me in 2012, when I won the "Most Promising New Artist" award from the Independent Country Music Association in Nashville, TN.
In 2013, I signed on with and indie record label out of Oklahoma, Tate Music Group. I worked with them to produce a full length, 10 song album, "Come And Get It." The CD is a great mix of styles with everything from hard rock, to country, to R&B , to hip-hop, and more. I am currently working on marketing and promoting this new album.
Look for a lot more great things to come in the near future for Benjamin Raye!