Thank you for your continued interest in and support of Ray's Music Exchange, our annual RayUnion shows at The Woodward Theater, and our latest exciting news… The first release of a new live recording in 15 years! We are excited to get this out to the world and we are glad that you've found us. Please add your name to the email list above to stay up to date on all things RME!

A Live Family Rayunion 2025, an LP featuring live highlights from last year's RayUnion show, will be released to the world on Saturday August 29th, 2026 on LIMITED EDITION 180g Black Vinyl & Digital Download and Streaming. You can reserve your own copy of the hand numbered, hand stamped, bespoke vinyl LP by pre-ordering today. You can choose to pick it up at the show on Saturday August 29th OR you can have it shipped domestically to you via media mail on the Monday following the concert. Each vinyl purchase includes a free digital download, available on the release date. You can also have your copy SIGNED in advance by Ray's Music Exchange. More information about the release is below…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cincinnati’s Ray’s Music Exchange Releases First Live Recording in 15 Years!

Upcoming Annual Woodward Theater Reunion show to feature special guests and a “Limited Edition Live Vinyl LP” release available for Pre-Order now

(Cincinnati, OH) July 21, 2026

          Cincinnati’s Ray’s Music Exchange, long known for a dynamic and eclectic mix of groove-based instrumental compositions and real time musical experimentations, is excitedly revving up for its big annual “Live Family RayUnion” show at The Woodward Theater on Saturday August 29th by bringing in some very special “legacy” members; keyboardist Paul Hogan, guitarist Joe McLean, and saxophonist Steve Kortyka to help celebrate a big 30th Anniversary year. For the third year in a row, the Woodward Theater, located at 1404 Main Street Cincinnati, OH 45202, will host an Evening with Ray’s Music Exchange with two long sets of music starting at 8:00pm. The show is ages 18+ (under 18 are allowed w/ a paid ticket and accompanied by a legal guardian) and advance tickets for both general admission and reserved seating can be purchased at https://www.cincyticket.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=7738 More info about the show can be found https://www.woodwardtheater.com/shows/evening-rays-music-exchange-live-family-rayunion

          To make this anniversary even more special and for the first time ever, they are releasing a limited edition live vinyl LP of highlights from 2025’s RayUnion show featuring special guests Josh Kline on saxophone and Spencer Merk on trombone, along with keyboardist Jackson Steiger, trumpeter Jonathan Wiseman, trombonist Colin Thompson, and Saxophonist Wayne Kilgard from Ernie Johnson from Detroit, another Cincinnati music “institution” known for instrumental dance music and highly energetic live shows. Pre-Orders for reserve copies of the vinyl LP to be picked up at the show or shipped domestically can be made at http://raysmusicexchange.band. For this maiden voyage into the world of vinyl production, Ray’s Music Exchange is putting out A Live Reunion 2025 as a Limited Edition 180 gram Black Vinyl LP. Each of the 300 copies will be hand numbered, hand stamped, and include a full color insert with concert photos and liner notes. Both signed and unsigned copies are available to reserve via pre-order and can be either picked up at The Woodward Theater on August 29th or shipped domestically following the show. Purchase of the vinyl LP will include a digital download of the album, also delivered on August 29th, the day the release will also become live on streaming platforms worldwide. Guitarist and producer for Ray’s Music Exchange, Brad Myers, says “Every RayUnion show has it’s special moments…but the 2025 show was full of energy, an adventurous spirit, and some rare moments featuring some really special younger players. The opportunity to preserve that moment for posterity, show our audience that the Rays ethos is still alive and well, and create a special release for super fans and collectors, was just too good to pass up. We would love this to lead to more music coming out in the future.”

           In 1996, Ray’s Music Exchange started actively playing college parties and bars around the University of Cincinnati and the greater OH/KY/IN tri-state area and building a reputation for fun, musically adventurous live shows that fit right in to the growing improvisational groove music, or “jam band” scene. From 1998-2006 the band went through several non-adversarial personnel changes, self-released five full-length recordings on CD, and toured across the country off and on playing festivals, concert venues, and clubs before taking an indefinite hiatus in 2006. In 2010, the band brought together twelve “legacy” band members for the first “A Live Rayunion” show at the former Play by Play in Silverton. The show was recorded and released a year later as a 2 hour plus live DVD and double digital album called A Live Rayunion. Since then, the band has come together periodically in different configurations to play reunion shows that both bring together the family of fans and friends from the early days as well as finding new younger audiences excited to discover the band. Over its thirty year history, the band has seen many amazing musicians come through and “cut their teeth”, so to speak, before moving on to other parts of the country for professional opportunities. “It’s such an honor to have played with so many talented musicians throughout the years…our paths cross, beautiful music is created, and the family tree keeps growing... it’s something to be proud of” beamed Brad Myers, who started with Ray’s Music Exchange back in 1998. “There is a great community of fans and friends that are spread over the whole country and many still around the Cincinnati area from the early days. It’s great to bring those folks together with new younger fans… it feels like a time machine taking us back to the “good ol’ days” except we all play our instruments a lot better.” The members that make up the “local core” of Ray’s Music Exchange are Michael “Maddog” Mavridoglou (trumpet, keyboards, and vocals), Brad Myers (guitar and vocals), Nick Blasky (bass and vocals), Jason Smart (drums), and Matthew Hawkins (percussion). Each member has a long list of musical adventures that they continue to develop professionally on their own, and many of those adventures involve each other. Fans of Aja: A Tribute to the Music of Steely Dan, Tinfoil Hat Cowboys, Now Hear This: Electric Jazz, Steve Schmidt Organ Trio, The Almond Butter Band (Allman Brothers Tribute), and Skjellyfetti (Grateful Dead Tribute) often times are delighted to discover the band that brought these musicians together initially…Ray’s Music Exchange!

           For further listening, the band’s entire music catalog of official releases can be found online at all streaming outlets worldwide. Additional archival info for the band is developing at both raysmusicexchange.band and bandcamp pages.

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