Ray Bonneville was born and raised in Canada, but moved to the Boston area in his teens, where he began to form his signature sound: a gutsy fusion of guitar and harmonica. Over the years, he has toured incessantly, performing at such important venues as the Montreal Jazz Festival, The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, The Winnepeg Folk Festival, and the Kerrville Folk Festival.

Although Ray has been called "Canada's best-kept secret", the word is getting out. Ray was nominated for a Maple Blues Award for 1997, 1998 and 1999 (in the Songwriter of the Year category) and received a 1999 ADISQ (the Quebec record industry award) nomination for Best Artist of the year. In addition, his previous release, A Gust of Wind (on Stony Plain Records), just (March 2000) won the Juno Award for Best Blues Album. Ray's style is powerful and unique, allowing his influences to blend with his own musical soul in a way that leaves the audience rivited. "I believe I am on the planet Earth to play, and that's what I aim to keep on doing for as long as I can," he says.

Ray's blues-inflected songwriting and extraordinary harmonica playing provides a breath of fresh air.

Ray's Website: raybonneville.com