7PM ✖ Hall ✖ ADV $15/ DOS $18 ✖ 18+

Singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Ryan Kinder is a heartfelt performer with a bent toward soulful country and pop. Kinder was born August 1, 1988, in Knoxville, Tennessee but raised in Birmingham, Alabama, where his first interests were baseball and hunting. Influenced early on by such artists as John Mayer, Brad Paisley, Garth Brooks, Marc Broussard, and others, he taught himself how to play guitar, and was soon writing his own songs. He began playing gigs at local and regional venues while he was still in high school, and he continued playing local clubs and frat parties after moving on to attend the University of Alabama. In 2007, he released his independent debut, Ryan Kinder.

Relocating to Nashville, Kinder further refined his songwriting skills by working with songwriting veterans like Jen Ketner and Luke Sheets, eventually signing a record deal with Bigger Picture Group and setting to work on songs with producers and engineers Keith Stegall, Ketner, and John Kelton. A debut single, “Tonight,” appeared in 2013, with a second single, the catchy and well-crafted “Kiss Me When I’m Down,” arriving early in 2014. Two years later, he delivered the Deconstructed Studio Sessions EP, which included a cover of Justin Bieber’s “Sorry.” More well-received singles followed including 2016’s “Close” and 2017’s “Still Believe in Crazy Love.” In 2018, Kinder delivered the rock- and blues-inflected single “Leap of Faith.”

Brandon Ray was born in the small West-Texas town of Big Spring. Raised on Rock n’ Roll, Country and Motown he picked up the guitar at the young age of 13. At 18 he was out on the road touring with his first band. They played 750 shows in 3 years including supporting the likes of Fall Out Boy, Switchfoot and grueling summers on Vans Warped Tour.

Brandon moved to Nashville in 2008 to pursue a career in songwriting. After arriving in Nashville, Brandon landed a publishing deal, played guitar for Brett Eldredge on tour (including Taylor Swift’s Red Tour) and lent his vocal to numerous demos for various publishers and songwriters in Nashville…. all while developing his own sound.

During the past year Ray has opened for artists such as Kip Moore, Jon Pardi, Martina McBride, Frankie Ballard, Craig Morgan, A Thousand Horses, Chase Rice, Craig Morgan, Bobby Bones & The Raging Idiots and David Nail.

Ray’s recent release “Ends of The Earth” (Produced by Ross Copperman and Keith Urban) is available now.