Latino country artist Frank Ray opening for Old Dominion in Cedar Rapids

Frank Ray never gave up on his impossible dream, turning it into a future full of possibilities.

That’s the example the Latino country singer/songwriter hopes his three girls — ages 19, 6 and a newborn — will take into their hearts.

Born Francisco Gomez in New Mexico, three miles from the Mexican/U.S. border, he grew up steeped in his Mexican heritage, language, and Latin and country music. He’s proud of his roots, singing in both Spanish and English, but decided to substitute his middle name for his last name as a performer.

“We just wanted something that rolls off the tongue a little bit better,” he said. “Say what you will about country music and how much it's evolved, but at the end of the day, people still need to be able to pronounce your name without any confusion or anyone scratching their heads.”

His career path took a major detour before hitting the airwaves, recording studios, dive bars and arenas like the Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, where he’ll be among the opening acts for Old Dominion on Feb. 11, 2023.

Initially, he spent 10 years as a police officer in Las Cruces, N.M., singing on the side. Then in 2017, he listened to his wife and took a giant leap of faith to holster his first career and aim toward building a country music career.

Now 36 and living with his wife and daughters in Nashville since September 2020, he’s on the path to success in his new chosen field, riding the Top 20 charts with the single “Country’d Look Good On You.”

First, he had to build a following back home, so he put out a song on Texas country radio.

“That gave us some momentum,” he said, enabling Ray and his band to work their way into the local club scene.

“It just turned into this thing (where) there was a name behind the song, and people could put a face to the name, and then you can sell tickets,” he said.

“It worked out beautifully, then after that, it seemed like the leaps in Nashville happened relatively quickly.

“The start of the third year, we started coming to Nashville and making ourselves more of a pronounced name here in town — not on the mainstream level, but certainly within the industry. People started being like, ‘Who the hell is this Mexican guy and why are we seeing him everywhere?’

“We started sneaking into parties we probably had no business being into,” he said, “but it’s cool. You’ve got to do those things to make an impression.”

It also allowed Ray to make valuable connections.

“One group that worked in PR got us a meeting with Spotify, and we wanted to get a song on there. That put us on the radar with mainstream country radio,” he said. “It happened very, very quickly after that.”

Soon he signed with BBR Music Group/Stoney Creek Records, and began opening for Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Kip Moore, LANCO and Old Dominion. They’ve taught him the ins and outs of touring, the village it takes, the business decisions and ways to find a work/life balance.

Just as they have shined so many lights for him, he’s hoping to be a beacon for cross-cultural artists.

Latino country genre

“Latin influence in country music isn't necessarily anything that's a new idea,” he said. “It's been happening since Freddy Fender and Johnny Rodriguez and the music of the ’60s and ’70s. And then, of course, that kind of bleeds over into things that George Strait and Brooks and Dunn have done.

“But I certainly had to find a new way to bring a modern take into the genre, when it came to bringing the Latin element into country music, because the music has evolved so much and I've evolved so much as an artist. It's definitely a different sound than you would get from the ’60s or ’70s.

“I definitely had to work to find my own thing, but the idea itself — the concept of Latin influence in country music — isn't a new idea,” he said.

Other genres influence his songwriting, as well.

"My style of music is pretty eclectic,“ he said. ”I listen to everything from ’90s R&B to Top 40 pop radio to ’90s country to mariachi music — the list goes on and on. So I'd like to think that all of those influences blend into one, and you get the sound of the artists who have these influences in the music.“

He released the six-song EP “Getcha Some” last summer, and will release a full album later in the year, so you’ll get some more.

“The music that I've got out right now is a pretty good snapshot of what people can expect from the full album,” he said. “It's got everything — it's a wide range of traditional country music to pop country, to the ballad, and of course, the Latin flair that you would expect from Hispanic artists.”

Between the EP and upcoming album, he’s recorded 15 songs, giving listeners "the whole experience of probably the best body of work I've ever put out.“

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