Matt Ray

Called “The Poet of the Northland” by KAXE 91.7FM, Matt Ray’s music is a pleasant blend of original songs as well as a unique selection of traditional music, where each performance is filled with rich and vivid storytelling, humor, and foot stompin’ roots music. Listeners should not only expect to be entertained, but they can also expect to learn a little bit about the history of American music. 

For the last several years, Matt Ray led the popular northern MN string band, “Matt Ray and Those Damn Horses” but has recently returned to performing solo shows. Ray has been playing all over the upper Midwest for years, and just before the inception of Those Damn Horses, he recorded a CD of original tunes entitled "Old Crow" with legendary MN musician / producer Rich Mattson. Some samples of his music are available on his webpage. “Old Crow” is also available from CD Baby or in digital form on iTunes, Amazon.com, etc. He most recently released the exciting new album "Minnesota Moon" produced by Ian Alexy and recorded and engineered by Ryan David Young.

Over the last several years, Matt Ray has performed as a solo artist in a variety of settings from theaters to intimate coffeehouses primarily in northern MN, and is working hard to take his music to a larger audience. He has shared the stage with some of the top acts in the region including: Charlie Parr, White Iron Band, Trampled By Turtles, Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank and many more. His music is played regularly on regional radio stations such as: WELY, KUMD, and KAXE.