Rafe Carlson is a singer/songwriter from Duluth, Minnesota, who left his job selling RVs in 2021 after a road trip to Texas resulted in him spending all of his emergency gas money on a vintage guitar. He gave his two-week notice at work and bought a plane ticket to Nashville to meet a music producer he’d been chatting with over the phone. Rafe felt at home in Music City, and eventually moved to Nashville to be closer to his team. Before hitting the road to tour with his MN-based band in 2023, Rafe recorded a full-length album at Sound Stage Studios on Music Row, wrote countless songs, many with some of the greatest award-winning songwriters in Nashville, and played hundreds of shows across the country, over the span of just 2 years.

Between racking up tens of millions of views on his TikTok guitar videos, to sharing the stage with acts like Jake Owen and Jon Pardi, Rafe has been able to share his rock-influenced take on modern country across the nation. “It’s a style that’s true to my roots,” says Rafe. “We might not be from the South, but we grew up in the woods. It’s as Country as it gets up here.” referring to the Northwoods of Minnesota, “we live in the freezing cold half the year, so there’s this kind of edge, and this toughness that is reflected in our music.”

Growing up in a military family where both of his grandfathers served in WWII, the well-being of those who have served in the U.S. military has long been something he’s been passionate about. In his latest release, “A Place to Fall”, Rafe is donating ten times his overall streaming revenue to give back to veterans. 

Rafe's 10,000 Lakes Summer Tour in 2023 introduced his music to tens of thousands of country fans across the Midwest and laid the foundation for a completely homegrown national following. "We're honest, and I think that's what our fans like," said Rafe, "They know we're not social media influencers, we're authentic. We play really loud and we always come to town to kick ass."