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Raymond Nainggolan (aka Ray&Co) was raised in Irian Jaya, an Indonesian province also known today as West Papua. His musical experience began at age six in a small mining town, where he would borrow his neighbor's guitar for days at a time to learn. Soon he was playing guitar for his mother's Sunday school class and then began revealing his musical gifts to the whole church. Ray continued to pursue music throughout elementary school and into high school, developing a strong singing voice to match his exceptional guitar playing. He was always playing in a band of some sort, ranging from Ska to Hardcore, and taking on new roles and instruments as he went. In 2000 Ray was really exposed to Ben Harper's music while attending Gordon College in Massachusetts. Harper s music took on a lot of meaning and had a huge impact on him in terms of writing and performing. Throughout college Ray played with many musicians that pushed and enabled him to think broader and more seriously about music as a career. With encouragement from close friends and musicians, he decided to give music his all, beginning with investing in a good guitar, a Taylor RCE 410, which is still Ray's favorite guitar to date. A natural on stage, Ray quickly went from solo open mic shows to playing with a full band at churches, youth group events, and popular pubs and bars. As word spread about Ray&Co the band was offered the opportunity to relocate to Australia to play guitar with Hillsong United, record the full length, and further expand their fan base internationally. Ray&Co has since gone on to perform at Acer Arena, the Sydney Entertainment Center and with Hillsong International. Ray&Co are often found rocking out at popular pubs, cafe's and hotels all over the Sydney area and recently went to South Korea for 3 weeks to lead several music Seminars. Ray s passion for music is contagious and he just can t stop smiling because he is doing what he loves, performing songs that are very personal and meaningful to him. Sydney rock, funk, reggae band Ray&Co are releasing their full length album on June 29th on Blue Duck Records along with a full US tour in June, July and August. The Christian-orientated Blue Duck is based in Massachusetts just outside Boston. But label boss Jay Ronan spotted band leader, Indonesian-born Ray Nainggolan, performing around the area when he was attending college, and just discovering Ben Harper and Jack Johnson. Ronan was particularly stoked over a track called So Alone . They kept in touch after Nainggolan returned to Sydney to play with Hillsong United. Ray&Co are confirmed to play major festivals like the Soul Fest in New Hampshire and Cornerstone Fest in Illinois, hitting the road with the band Abel to promote his single; Lonely Paradise; which is getting airplay on college radio, and for two weeks in August teams up with non profit group Love Can't Be Baht to help raise money to stop Human Trafficking.