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Dean Ray Band to showcase at Lacombe Days

Taking a break from their whirlwind casino tour, the Dean Ray Band will be making a stop during Lacombe Days this Saturday.

Taking a break from their whirlwind casino tour, the Dean Ray Band will be making a stop during Lacombe Days this Saturday.

Based out of Three Hills, frontman Dean Ray is excited to bring his four-piece band and their eclectic blend of country/rock back to the City.

“We really like to mix it up,” said Ray. “When we do country, we give it more of country/rock edge.”

Ray also performs as a solo artist, but he brings his band with him for larger shows and events for a wall of sound effect.

“In the band, I’ve been doing this for full-time for about six years now, so it’s sort of taken off with the radio play, live shows and things happening all the time,” he said. “We do the casino circuit across Alberta, appearances at weddings and just a little bit of everything, like cabaret and a lot of one-night shows.”

Ray has been playing with his one guitar player for 12 years, with a brotherly like bond, and his bassist, who originates from Holland, for the past few years.

“My drummer, he played on cruise ships and we came across him about a year ago,” said Ray. “We recruited him and he’s a pretty tough player as well. Everyone’s pretty talented and fun to play with.”

Ray first began playing music at the ripe age of six, inspired by his uncle who was an Elvis Presley impersonator.

“When I was young I listened to him play, practice and stuff like that,” he said. “That really got me going.”

From there and for some years down the road, Ray began to delve into music on a full-time basis and has earned his stripes through radio play from his two released full-length albums.

“I would like to say my style would be, when I’m not doing covers, kind of roots-y/light rock kind of thing,” he said. “But some of the radio stations are country too, so it’s kind of a cross-over thing like Kid Rock, where you have stuff on the country rock stations and some on the rock station.”

Off his first album, Every Mile, one of Ray’s tracks was featured on the Ricki Lake TV show as the title song.

“I had a few songs on the radio from that one, and the most recent one, the Here’s To You album, I had six songs on the radio,” he explained.

Ray also released a music video this past December for the new track called Live It Loud, which is a refreshing stomp down the country road. Live It Loud is one of the new tracks Ray will be including on an upcoming album.

“We did some writing and we plan on going to Nashville to record the project,” he said.

Ray has been performing the new batch of songs live and is aiming for the new album to be released in 2016.

The Dean Ray Band will be performing during Lacombe Days at Music in the Park on July 25th. Music in the Park is held at Michener Park and runs from 6 p.m. to midnight.

For more information about the Dean Ray Band, visit www.deanrayband.com.

news@lacombeexpress.com