Tour treats & trials

Show #1 The Chloe Raye "Blame It On Where I Grew Up" Tour June 5, 2025 - Minot, ND

I hoisted my suitcase into the backseat of Brownie (my car that has 180,000+ miles on the engine - a sure sign of a touring musician), closed the door and headed out for the 4 1/2-hour drive to the first show in my "Blame It On Where I Grew Up" tour.

I was starting the tour where I started - Ebeneezer's Eatery and Irish Pub in Minot, North Dakota. After playing community events, fairs, and more from the age of 15, I booked my first bar gig at the place everyone affectionately calls "Eb's" when I was 19. It became a regular venue for me a few times each month, until I moved to the eastern side of the state four years later.

Familiar faces

I walked in the door of Ebeneezer's with my guitar on my back and there they were - some of the familiar faces behind the bar that had watched me develop my skills, cheered me on, and served me shots on my 21st birthday.

My mom and my 85-year-old grandmother arrived early to get a table, and my dad did what he has done since this music career began. He helped carry in my music gear, hooked up cords, turned on speakers, and offered a listening ear for my sound check.

As the show began, more familiar faces showed up - my sister who was my musical inspiration from the start and my five Minot super fans - Norm, Dani, Todd, Marianne and James - as well as some others I knew well,  and some new faces.

I was home. The music flowed.

The treat

Norm put his traditional Reese's cup in my tip jar, and I sang "Jolene" for him in the first set. The song was a favorite of his wife, who passed away shortly before he heard me sing it at a car show a few years earlier in Bottineau, North Dakota. We met for the first time that day, and I've sung "Jolene" for him, in memory of her, ever since at nearly every show that he's been able to attend.

Music preserves memories, and music makes memories. It can be powerful and poignant. It reaches farther and touches us deeper than we'll ever know.

The trial    

At every show, it seems, there's a comment that catches you off guard and makes you weigh the good and bad of a music career. The good always outweighs the bad for me. God made me for this, I'm certain of it.

A man who had imbibed of a good amount of alcohol that night affectionately called out to me from his table and asked, "Chloe, are you always that pretty or do you have to work at it?"

"I have to work at it," I responded with a laugh, then finished up my last few songs on this first stop of the tour.

The crowd singing along at Ebeneezer's a couple of years ago.