Red Ryder Entertainment

The genesis of Ravenna Woods can be traced to a small coral atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. With just an acoustic guitar and a 4-track, songwriter Chris Cunningham traveled to the outer island community of Jabor, Jaluit to teach at a boarding school in 2007-2008. Cunningham drew inspiration from the extreme isolation of the location as well as the country's unfortunate history as a nuclear testing ground for the US military.



Upon returning to Seattle, Cunningham teamed up with like-minded musicians Brantley Duke and Matt Badger. Combining stripped down instrumentation with a penchant for hardcore/punk music, the 14-song Demons and Lakes was released in early 2010. 

Their most recent effort, the Valley of the Headless Men EP, came after being reacquainted with life in urban America.

Distrust in government agencies, capitalism, westernization, apocalyptic dreams, death, profiteering, war, environmental exploitation, global catastrophes … these are ideas Ravenna has managed to weave together into a lyrical tapestry of dark observation and paranoia. Valley of the Headless Men is an imaginative reflection on the death rattle of the American dream.

Notable recent events include two KEXP in-studios (2010/2011), and music videos produced for In the World, Ghosts, A Devil's Coming, and Graves. The band has performed at Northwest Folklife Fest (2010/2011), Capitol Hill Block Party (2010/2011), Kahbang Festival, Doe Bay Fest (2010/2011), Reverb Fest, The Paramount Theater (with DeVotchKa), Bumbershoot, and a KEXP sponsored Mural Amphitheater slot at Seattle Center. Ravenna also jumped on the road for an east coast tour with Seattle brethren Hey Marseilles, and a Midwest tour down to SXSW documented via a daily tour blog on kexp.org.



In addition to KEXP voting Demons and Lakes as one of the top 90 albums of 2010, City Arts Magazine listed Ravenna as the favorite local band of Seattle music industry professionals, and Seattle Magazine awarded them “Best Indie Acoustic Band of 2010.” Beyond a large reservoir of shining local press, the trio has grabbed the attention of SPIN.com twice in the past 6 months: once in a 6 Northwest Bands You Need to Know feature, and another time for their rendition of “Breed” at a Nirvana ‘Nevermind' tribute concert.