Who we are
Founded in September 2017 by Dan Ray, Dan's Tunes is a music journalism website dedicated to uplifting diverse and compelling voices and helping music communities thrive.
Our Belief
At Dan’s Tunes, we believe the public deserves to know. The free press is a first amendment right — and that means your access to the free press should be guaranteed, too. That’s why we work to bring you the most pertinent, most accurate information about what’s going on in our local music community, and that’s also why we’ll never restrict our content behind a paywall. We’re not doing our job if our content doesn’t reach you.
A better, more equitable world is one in which everyone has access to information. Information is power, and we’re working to empower people with every piece of content we produce.
Music is the basis of culture, and culture comes directly from the people. Our communities have the power to be an impetus for change, and that’s why locality matters, why new voices matter, and why art matters. That’s why we’ll always be here to show you exactly what’s happening at the ground level — because that’s where growth starts.
It doesn’t matter who you are, what you believe, or where you spend your time and money — you deserve to know. And we want to tell you.
Mission Statement
Creating a space for the music community to thrive.
Contact Us
Our Team
Founder & CEO
Staff Writer & IG Story Queen
Staff Writer & Social Strategist
Sam Luikens
Staff Writer
Caleah Dean
Editor
Staff Photographer
Patrick O'Neill
Staff Writer
Staff Accountant
Meet Dan
Raised by a single mother in the suburbs of Detroit, Dan discovered an early passion for singing, songwriting, and the arts as a whole. In high school she won the English Department Award for taking over the school newspaper and growing it by 200%. She got her BA in English and music at the University of Michigan, where she reported for the school’s paper, The Michigan Daily. She worked as a Senior News Reporter on the government beat, transitioned to arts writing, and eventually became the managing editor of the social media department. She moved to Seattle in 2017.
After losing her job during the COVID-19 pandemic and discouraged about the lack of press surrounding Seattle’s music scene, Dan made the decision to turn Dan’s Tunes, a fully fledged music journalism website focused on showcasing the Seattle area’s musicians, into its own startup. There’s so much music happening in the city that spawned Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Jimi Hendrix — among others — and Dan’s Tunes is determined to find and expose those outstanding acts. The goal is to have satellites in every major US city, uplifting diverse and compelling voices and helping music communities thrive.
In 2020, Dan was featured in the Seattle Times’s year-end music critic poll. Dan’s Tunes also received an award in the Dan’s Tunes 2020 Awards for Best Quarantine Hustle, for which Dan did nominate herself but was awarded based on audience voting. Other than her musical endeavors (singing, playing ukulele, and auditioning for American Idol four times before the age of 24) Ray is passionate about food and education around the American food system, and she’s also a large proponent of eliminating the stigma around mental health. Pop culture is her guilty pleasure, and she finds great joy in experimenting with fashion. Ray loves cats, especially her own, who is named Macaulay Culkin (but she’s a lady).
