Ray Bonneville

Ray Bonneville has created and mastered a fusion of traditional American Roots and Blues music all his own, and deeply influenced by his upbringing in French Canada and the years he spent writing and playing music in New Orleans. He is known as the master of the slow burn, the groove and acclaimed for his harmonica tone. With a greasy guitar style, horn-like harmonica, smoky vocals and pulsing foot percussion he captivates audiences by being his own backing band. Known for his sparce evocative storytelling, Ray’s songs often feature characters living on the fringe of society, set down lonely roads, on long stretches of highway or in the belly of teeming cities. In 1999 Bonneville won the Juno award (Canada’s Grammy) for his Album “Gust of Wind” and was nominated twice more. Ray's song “I am the Big Easy” was the most played song by American folk DJs and won “Song of the Year” in 2009 and was recorded by Jennifer Warnes in 2018. Ray won the International Blues Challenge solo category in 2012 in Memphis. Ray Bonneville began writing songs when he was forty years old and has released ten albums in thirty-five years since then. He will release his eleventh album, with the working title “Nomads and Refugees” in January 2026. He has toured relentlessly across the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia. Ray Bonneville is compared with artists like JJ Cale, Tony Joe White, Mississippi John Hurt and Chris Smither.