Ray O'Hara

Ray O’Hara is an ASCAP award-winning songwriter, singer, guitar player, and member of the Orange Hunters. Based in Austin, Texas, his music is an Americana melting pot of rock, country, blues, and folk, encompassing a rootsy, alt-country sound. His songs have received radio airplay across the United States and Europe, including the Bob Harris Show on BBC Radio 2, and he has performed live on NPR radio and Good Day Austin.

Ray’s musical journey began on his 10th birthday, when he received his first guitar—a Sears Silvertone acoustic. Six months later, he was playing Neil Young songs for his older sisters and their friends. Those early “performances” eventually led to more serious gigs with rock bands throughout high school and college, followed by years as an acoustic solo artist playing pubs throughout Chicago’s Wrigleyville and Lincoln Park neighborhoods.

Music was already in the family. Ray was named after his grandfather, a piano player and orchestra leader who became his first musical influence. His grandfather often told stories about playing with his bands on Chicago’s West Side during the 1920s and ’30s.

“He used to tell us stories about his bands back in the ’20s and ’30s on the west side of Chicago,” Ray recalls. “Once he retrieved Louis Armstrong from an illegal dice game upstairs from the ballroom he was performing in. He also gave Benny Goodman his first break in show business.”

Following in his grandfather’s tradition of making music and bringing people together, Ray formed the Orange Hunters, a jam-rock band that developed a devoted following throughout the Midwest. Over a five-year span, the band toured extensively, performing approximately 200 shows a year. The Orange Hunters released several CDs, selling a cumulative 10,000 copies directly from their shows and, quite literally, out of the back of their van.

The band earned critical attention during its touring years and became a regular presence on Chicago radio. The Orange Hunters performed live and received airplay on several major-market Chicago rock stations and became favorite, regular guests on the Kevin Matthews Show on WLUP Radio. The group also appeared on two Fox network television specials.

Along the way, the Orange Hunters shared stages with an eclectic collection of artists including the BoDeans, Freddy Jones Band, Poi Dog Pondering, Camper Van Beethoven, the Elvis Brothers, Donnie Van Zandt, and others. The band's years on the road established Ray as a seasoned performer and connected him with the larger American roots and rock community.

When the Orange Hunters eventually disbanded, Ray put his guitar away and moved to Austin, Texas. The city's vibrant and deeply rooted music scene eventually drew him back to songwriting and recording. The result was 45 South, Ray’s first solo record.

Released in January 2005, 45 South began as a solo acoustic project but evolved into a much broader musical statement. The record combines drums, bass, acoustic and electric guitars, dobro, lap steel, harmonica, fiddle, banjo, organ, piano, and accordion. At the center of the album are Ray’s songs—soulful, honest stories of love, hope, and despair alongside roguish tunes that find humor in the foibles of everyday life.

Ray drew from Austin’s deep pool of musicians to assemble an impressive cast for the album, including Jimmy LaFave, Trish Murphy, Rachel Loy, Michael Ramos, Rick McRae, Larry Wilson, Chris Maresh, Wally Doggett, Wil Landin, Stewart Cochran, Rich White, and Louis Meyers. His longtime friend and former Orange Hunters guitarist and singer Pat Stavely contributes harmony vocals and shares a songwriting credit on “Still Looking.”

The Austin music community embraced 45 South. Ray performed at venues including the Cactus Café, Momo’s, the Saxon Pub, Freddie’s, El Mercado, Threadgill’s, Flipnotics, the Austin Songwriters Group “In the Round,” and the San Marcos River Pub. He shared stages with Jimmy LaFave, Jon Dee Graham, Bob Schneider, Matt the Electrician, Monte Montgomery, Rachel Loy, Tucker Livingston, and other Texas artists.

Austin radio also supported the record, with spins on KGSR and KUT. Ray performed live on John Aielli’s Eklektikos and was featured as an artist on KUT’s Austin Music Minute. The video for “45 South” received regular airplay on the Austin Music Network.

The response eventually reached far beyond Texas. 45 South received strong reviews and radio airplay throughout Europe, establishing an international audience for Ray’s music and adding a cross-Atlantic dimension to his career.

Ray’s latest release, “The Friday Ten,” brings together many of the musical influences that have shaped his life and career. Written by Ray and John Lynch, the song is a rootsy, good-time road song about turning off the noise of commercial radio, climbing into an ’85 pickup, and heading home with the right soundtrack playing. The lyrics tip their hat to artists ranging from The Meters, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones to George Jones, Johnny Cash, Hayes Carll, Muddy Waters, T-Bone Walker, and, most prominently, Texas songwriting legend Ray Wylie Hubbard.

Produced by Ray O’Hara and mixed and mastered by Chris Bell, the recording features Ray on lead vocal, acoustic and electric guitars, with Betty Soo on background vocals, Larry Wilson on electric guitar, Michael Ramos on organ, Will Landin on bass, and Kit Bergman on drums. With its blend of country, blues, rock, and Americana, “The Friday Ten” is both a celebration of the music Ray loves and a snapshot of the kind of storytelling that continues to define his songwriting.

Today, Ray O’Hara continues to write, record, and perform music rooted in the traditions that first inspired him. His catalog includes original songs such as “45 South,” “Mexico,” and “The Friday Ten,” while his ongoing work continues to bring together Americana, roots rock, country, blues, and folk.

From a Sears Silvertone in Chicago to stages and studios in Austin and beyond, Ray’s music remains grounded in the same thing that started it all: a guitar, a good song, and a story worth telling.