The Reverend Jesse Ray is a one-man-band, performing rock and roll blues. His stop in Marquette is part of a longer tour taking him all over the midwest, with stops in Colorado.

“I’ve been playing music since I was in high school,” said Ray. “My mom used to sneak me into — well, not sneak me into, she was my chaperone — for open mic nights in Grand Rapids when I was in high school. And then I’d sleep in my car during lunch period. I was doing it quite a bit, and then I started busking in college when I was in Portland, Oregon. In 2013, I started Jesse Ray and the Carolina Catfish, which was a two-piece band, which disbanded last year. I started performing solo as the Reverend Jesse Ray in, I think it was 2022.”

Ray is releasing a new solo album, titled Collector, on June 26.

“Everybody when they start out kind of sounds like their influences and my influences were blues, rockabilly and rock and roll,” said Ray. “My early Catfish stuff, I was really trying to emulate a lot of those early records that I really enjoyed.

Jesse Ray performs as his one-man band, The Reverend Jesse Ray. (Courtesy photo)

“But I think, you know, ten years later, after writing and recording music, this new record that I’m about to release on June 26, Collector, it sounds like the first record that’s kind of like, just me. It’s just, like, Americana roots music, rock and roll, blues, rockabilly. It’s like a rock and roll derivative of Chuck Berry, Little Richard.”

Though all the songs on Collector were written by Ray, the new album was made in collaboration with producer Dick Chiclet, with backing vocals by Ray’s fiancee Noah Catton.

“I had Kitten Redman from Kitten and the Tonics, a really awesome surf band in the Allegan area,” said Ray. “She came up and recorded on five or six tracks, something like that. She added a ton of life, and this really cool rockabilly bounce to a number of the songs.”

Ray was at Smarty’s Saloon last July playing with the Carolina Catfish, but this June’s show will be a solo gig, featuring songs off of his upcoming album.

“I always thought it was way different (to play solo), but somebody just pointed out to me last weekend that the only thing (I’m) doing differently now is just playing drums with (my) feet,” said Ray. “Everything else is the same; I play guitar, I sing, I play harmonica, and I just play drums with my feet.”

Ray plays a six-pedal foot drum manufactured in Cedar, Michigan.

“It takes a while for some people to learn how to sing and play guitar at the same time,” said Ray. “And it does, but I started playing ukulele and singing when I was eight years old, so I guess I got over the awkwardness of playing and singing pretty quick, and then I added harmonica … It did take a while to get used to, with six pedals on my feet, going from just being able to run around and doing whatever I want or focusing on one thing.

“I try to focus on just playing guitar, but if I think too much about what I’m doing with my feet, everything falls apart. I try to keep in this blissful state where I’m not thinking too much about one thing.”

When Ray started doing solo shows without the Carolina Catfish, he had to come up with a new artist name. “The Reverend” is a nickname given to him by other musicians.

“”Right after covid, I was having a hard time getting the band going, and I didn’t play guitar for like a year during covid,” said Ray.

Ray was approached with an offer to open for country music singer Rachel Brooke, but his band’s drummer couldn’t make it.

“So I had to come up with a name … (the Reverend) is a nickname that I got from another producer, Addison, and my old drummer. They kept calling me ‘The Reverend’; I think because of the way that I was singing or something like that. I didn’t really like the nickname because I felt like I was stealing clout. But I typed in ‘Jesse Ray’ (on a search engine), and then I learned that there’s a bunch of dudes named Jesse Ray playing music … I typed in “The Reverend Jesse Ray,” and nobody had thought of it yet, so I just ran with it.”

The first single off of Collector is already out, titled “Faithful Man.” By the time Ray visits Negaunee next month, several other singles will also be released and Ray may even have CDs for sale.

“I love Marquette and Negaunee,” said Ray. “My finance and I, who I refer to as my manager when I’m on stage, we’re pretty avid bikers, so we like to ride up into the U.P. and go all over the place. We really love stopping in Marquette and going through Negaunee. I really like it out there. It’s a lot of fun, it’s almost like a working vacation for me, I always get excited when I get to go up for a little bit.”

For those who didn’t get the change to see The Revered Jesse Ray perform last summer, June’s show is a chance to remedy that.

“Expect one of those old school rock shows,” said Ray. “Go in, grab something to drink, don’t be a stranger. We’re rocking and rolling, we’re rocking the house. If you want to listen to yacht rock, go find a place that’s playing yacht rock. We’re rocking and rolling. We’re gonna get a little rowdy.”

More information about The Reverend Jesse Ray can be found at therevjesseray.com.

Annie Lippert can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. Her email address is alippert@miningjournal.net.