MEET THE BAND
RAY CARDWELL
BASS / VOCALS
With a powerful four-octave voice and an innate mastery of the bass in his nine-instrument repertoire, comes from a long line of musicians and performers. A native of the Missouri Ozarks, he grew up in a family band that played bluegrass, old-time country and gospel music. Ray was singing on his dad’s live radio show and at church at age three, and by 12 the family band was performing throughout America’s heartland.
In the ‘80s Ray played rock, reggae, rockabilly and Motown out of Springfield, Missouri and in the Midwest as a bassist and front man, keyboardist and sax player. He relocated to Hollywood, CA for a year to play with a new wave band, Resonance, later returning to Missouri to play bluegrass with Slick Nickel. Ray moved to Nashville in 1994 to sing lead and play bass with progressive bluegrass gospel band, New Tradition, recording two albums and touring nationally. Cardwell finished a degree in music education in the mid ‘90s, singing with national honor choirs at the Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. While directing award-winning high school band and choir programs, Cardwell fronted an indie rock trio called Squigglefish and played lead roles in local theatre groups.
Ray returned to Nashville in 2015 to work with producer/guitarist Pat Flynn (New Grass Revival), recording a mostly original collection of R&B, reggae, newgrass, and gospel-influenced bluegrass music and forming his own band, Tennessee Moon. The self-titled CD (2017) was released on Pinecastle Records, gaining attention, accolades and chart rankings in the Nashville music scene. Two more albums followed, Stand On My Own (2019) and Just a Little Rain (2020) on Pinecastle’s Bonfire imprint. His chart-topping singles include originals like “Time to Drive,” “Hurricane Rain,” “Sing it to the World,” and covers like “Take Me to the River” and “Standin’ on the Rock.” Ray and his children live in the Jefferson City, MO area on the Missouri River. A prolific songwriter, Ray likes to cook, kayak, and ride mountain bikes.
Visit Ray’s website raycardwell.com to purchase his music and for more information