05/16/2026
FORWARD: Local music, local parks.
Rochester Public Music is excited to welcome Raynes with opener JoJo Green on Wednesday, August 19 at White Oaks Park. Music starts at 5:30pm, and no registration is required.
British-American trio Raynes have wasted no time making themselves heard. Signing with Sony Music Publishing less than a year after their inception, the group has since released six singles, three EPs, and held performances at sold-out venues across the US and the UK. Now, their singular blend of pop, folk, and world music is being featured on television shows, commercials, and tastemakers’ playlists, earning them hundreds of thousands of monthly listeners and millions of streams across platforms.
Mat Charley and Joe Berger, both born and raised in North Dakota, met in college, where Mat - the band’s producer and multi-instrumentalist - was usually skipping class to write songs.
Knowing that they would need a strong vocalist, they took to the internet to find the missing piece of their project. “We were looking for a needle in an enormous haystack,” says Mat. “To be honest, we didn’t think our chances were very good at all.” After months of searching, they struck gold with UK native Mark Race, who, after a Facebook message and a few phone calls, was on a flight ten days later to Los Angeles.
The trio's fusion has proven to be a winning combination. As Raynes, they combine their diverse influences to form a group whose taste spans the globe, incorporating elements of folk, Americana, and baroque pop with Celtic and world music to create a wholly original sound. Raynes’ newest project, a seven-song EP entitled Bloom, was released in June of 2025. Find out more about Raynes here: https://www.raynesmusic.com/
Find more information and see updates about the event here: https://www.facebook.com/share/1FxFgsdXbo/
For more information on the FORWARD concert series and Rochester Public Music, check out our website: https://www.rochestermn.gov/activities-parks-culture/music/.
FORWARD Park Concerts are generously supported by the Mayo Clinic and 106.9 KROC FM.
