Charles Allen Ragan (born October 30, 1974) is an American

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

, and

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

ist. He is the guitarist and vocalist of the band

Hot Water Music Hot Water Music is an American punk rock band formed in October 1994 and based in Gainesville, Florida. Since their formation, the group has consisted of Chuck Ragan and Chris Wollard on shared lead vocals and guitars, bass guitarist Jason B ...

. Ragan has also released a variety of solo material, including a series of

7-inch In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

es on

No Idea Records No Idea Records is an American independent record label based in Gainesville, Florida which focuses on punk rock and its sub-styles and produces both vinyl records and compact discs. No Idea Records started not as a record label, but as a zine ...

, a live album and three studio albums on

Side One Dummy Records SideOneDummy Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1995 by Bill Armstrong and Joe Sib. The label began as a way for them to release music for their friends' bands. Thereafter SideOneDummy launched the care ...

Early and personal life

Chuck Ragan is the son of former PGA and

Ryder Cup The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...

golfer

Dave Ragan David William Ragan, Jr. (August 7, 1935 – March 13, 2018) was an American professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour and the Senior PGA Tour. Ragan was born in Daytona Beach, Florida. He attended the University of Florida in Gainesville ...

and gospel singer and missionary Geraldine Ragan. Ragan is married. He and his wife have a son who was born in May 2015.

Hot Water Music

From October 1994 until 2006 Ragan was one of the lead singers for

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesv ...

-based

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band

. The group disbanded on good terms in 2005, and the other three members went on to form punk band

The Draft Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

, while Ragan continued a solo career playing mostly acoustic folk inspired music similar in tone to a former acoustic Hot Water Music side project called Rumbleseat signing to

. Hot Water Music reunited in 2007 for a tour across the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and in 2012, released a new album, Exister.

Tours

Chuck Ragan,

Tim Barry Tim Barry is an American musician and the lead singer of the Richmond, Virginia-based punk rock band Avail. In addition to performing with Avail, he was the bass guitarist in the Richmond-based folk punk band (Young) Pioneers from 1994 to ...

and Ben Nichols toured in the fall of 2008. Chuck Ragan was also a support act on

Frank Turner Francis Edward Turner (born 28 December 1981) is an English Punk rock, punk and Folk music, folk singer-songwriter from Meonstoke, Hampshire. He began his career as the vocalist of post-hardcore band Million Dead, then embarked upon a primaril ...

's 2010 tour of the UK, and supported

The Gaslight Anthem The Gaslight Anthem is an American rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey, formed in 2006. The band consists of Brian Fallon (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano), Alex Rosamilia (lead guitar, backing vocals), Alex Levine (bass guitar, backing ...

during their 2010 European Fall tour. Ragan was the opener on the

Social Distortion Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. It consists of Mike Ness (vocals, guitar), Jonny Wickersham (guitar), Brent Harding (bass), David Hidalgo Jr. (drums), and David Kalish (keyboards). Emerg ...

west coast tour in late January and February 2011.

The Revival Tour

In 2005, Ragan conceptualized the idea of The Revival Tour, a collaborative acoustic event featuring several punk rock, bluegrass, and alt-country performers. Ragan has stated that the tour is about "sharing music together" and "bringing it to people in an extremely honest and grassroots fashion." On each tour the artists were accompanied by a fiddle player, Jon Gaunt, and an

upright bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

player. In 2008 and 2009,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...

singer, Digger Barnes played the upright bass. In 2011, 2012, and 2013, the upright bass was played by Joe Ginsberg.

Beginnings

The first Revival Tour in 2008 featured

Avail Avail is an American melodic hardcore band from Richmond, Virginia. Originally from Reston, Virginia, the band formed in 1987, its members including Joe Banks, Doug Crosby, Brien Stewart, and Mikey Warstler. The only original remaining member, ...

and Lucero's Ben Nichols, with guest appearances from

Laura Jane Grace Laura Jane Grace (born Thomas James Gabel; November 8, 1980) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the founder, lead singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist of the punk rock band Against Me!. In addition to Against M ...

Against Me! Against Me! is an American punk rock band, formed in 1997 in Naples, Florida, by singer and guitarist Laura Jane Grace. That same year, Grace moved to Gainesville, Florida, which is considered the band's hometown. Since 2001, the band's lineup ...

The Lawrence Arms The Lawrence Arms are an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. They have released seven full-length albums and toured extensively. Band history Pre-history Prior to forming the Lawrence Arms, the three band members were active ...

, Austin Lucas, and

2009–2012

In 2010, The Revival Tour journeyed across Australia, featuring Ragan, Barry, Nichols,

, Jen Buxton of Like...Alaska, Darren Gibson, and Jamie Hay, accompanied by Jon Gaunt on fiddle and Todd Beene (of

Glossary A glossary (from , ''glossa''; language, speech, wording), also known as a vocabulary or clavis, is an alphabetical list of Term (language), terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms. Traditionally, a gloss ...

and Lucero) on

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

. The Tour was concluded with a one-off performance at the Punk Rock Bowling festival in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, featuring Ragan, Nichols,

Kevin Seconds Kevin Seconds is an American singer/songwriter/musician. It was while living in Reno, that he founded the highly influential hardcore punk band 7 Seconds in 1979 with his younger brother Steve Youth.Steve Soto Steve Soto (August 23, 1963 – June 27, 2018) was an American musician. Soto was the founding bassist of California punk rock bands Agent Orange and the Adolescents. Soto was also a member of Legal Weapon, Joyride, Manic Hispanic, Punk Rock ...

, John Carey of

Old Man Markley Old Man Markley was a punk & bluegrass band based out of Los Angeles, CA. Founded in 2007, the band consisted of John Carey (lead vocals, guitar), Annie DeTemple (Autoharp, Vocals), Alex Zablotsky (Mandolin), Jeff Fuller (Drums), Joey Garibald ...

, and

Flogging Molly Flogging Molly is an Irish-American seven-piece Celtic punk band formed in Los Angeles in 1997, led by Irish vocalist Dave King, formerly of the hard rock band Fastway. They are signed to their own record label, Borstal Beat Records. Histor ...

's Matt Hensley and Nathen Maxwell. The 2011 Revival Tour featured

Brian Fallon Brian Michael Fallon (born January 28, 1980) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main lyricist of the rock band the Gaslight Anthem, with whom he has recorded six studio al ...

, Dave Hause of The Loved Ones, and Dan Andriano of

Alkaline Trio Alkaline Trio is an American punk rock band from Chicago. The band's current members are Matt Skiba (guitar, vocals), Dan Andriano (bass, vocals), and Atom Willard (drums). Founded in late 1996 by Skiba, bassist Rob Doran, and drummer Glenn Por ...

, as well as guest appearances from Helen Chambers, Sam Russo, Jimmy Islip, Brian Brody, and

Franz Nicolay Franz Nicolay (born 1977) is an American musician and writer. He is best known as the keyboardist and pianist for the indie rock band the Hold Steady, with whom he has recorded seven studio albums. Nicolay is also known for playing the accordion ...

In 2012, Ragan, Andriano,

Cory Branan Cory Dale Branan (born December 15, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter from Mississippi. Early life Branan was born in Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee, to parents Dallas Lee Branan, a jet mechanic at FedEx, and Peggy Branan (né ...

Ben Kweller Benjamin Lev Kweller (born June 16, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. A former member of Radish, Kweller has released six solo albums and appeared on several collaborations. Early life Ben Kweller was born in S ...

and Nathaniel Rateliff performed across the United States and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

for the Tour's spring leg, with guest appearances by Jenny Owen Youngs, Dave Hause, and Kayleigh Goldsworthy. In the autumn of the same year, a European leg of the Tour featured Ragan, Branan, Emily Barker,

Rocky Votolato Rocky Votolato (born March 8, 1977, in Dallas, Texas, United States) is an American indie and folk singer-songwriter. He was also a member of the rock group Waxwing. in 2025, he started a new band called Suzzallo with bandmate Rudy Gajadhar on d ...

, and Jay Malinowski of

Bedouin Soundclash Bedouin Soundclash is a Canadian band based in Toronto and consisting of vocalist and guitarist Jay Malinowski, bass player Eon Sinclair, and various session musicians. Their sound has been described as a combination of reggae and ska. Bedouin ...

Musical projects

In a February 12, 2010, interview, Chuck commented that he was working on an album with

, frontman for the Gaslight Anthem. Since then, Fallon's vocals appeared on Ragan's song "Meet You In The Middle." Ragan released a four-way split with underground UK singer-songwriters Sam Russo, Helen Chambers and Jimmy Islip in 2011. On November 21, 2013, Chuck announced that his next solo album with Todd Beene of Lucero and

, Jon Gaunt, Joe Ginsberg, David Hidalgo Jr. of

Rami Jaffee Rami Jaffee (born March 11, 1969) is an American musician. He is the keyboardist for the rock band Foo Fighters, whom he initially joined in a touring and session capacity in 2005. He has contributed to seven of the band's studio albums, and for ...

The Wallflowers The Wallflowers are an American rock music, rock solo project of American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jakob Dylan. The Wallflowers were originally a roots rock band formed in Los Angeles by Dylan and guitarist Tobi Miller. It ha ...

and

Foo Fighters The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...

, Christopher Thorn of

Blind Melon Blind Melon is an American rock band formed in 1990 in Los Angeles, California. The band consists of guitarists Rogers Stevens and Christopher Thorn, drummer Glen Graham, vocalist Travis Warren and bassist Nathan Towne. They are best known ...

that would be titled 'Till Midnight and released in 2014 on Side One Dummy. In November 2023, Chuck signed with

Rise Records Rise Records is an American record label currently based in Beaverton, Oregon, mainly focusing on alternative rock, heavy metal, and punk rock music artists. History Rise was founded in 1991 by Craig Ericson in Nevada City, California. He relea ...

Other projects

In 2012, Ragan released a book of tour stories entitled "The Road Most Traveled." The book is said to be "more than just a collection of anecdotes, it's as much a handbook of how to act on tour as it is a cautionary tale of what not to do if you want to sustain this lifestyle for years to come." In 2014, Ragan began working on the soundtrack for "

The Flame in the Flood ''The Flame in the Flood'' is a 2016 roguelike survival game, survival Adventure game, adventure video game developed by The Molasses Flood and published by Curve Digital. The game was developed for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Xbox One. A Pl ...

", a video game developed by the indie game company The Molasses Flood.

Discography

Studio albums

* 2007 '' Feast or Famine'' –

SideOneDummy SideOneDummy Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles. It was founded in 1995 by Bill Armstrong and Joe Sib Wax was an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California. Wax emerged during the pop punk resurgence of the ...

* 2009 ''

Gold Country The Gold Country (also known as Mother Lode Country) is a historic region in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, that is primarily on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. It is famed for the mineral deposits and gold mines t ...

'' –

/ TenFour Records * 2011 '' Covering Ground'' –

/ TenFour Records * 2014 '' Till Midnight'' –

Dine Alone Records Dine Alone Records is a Canadian and American record label, founded in St. Catharines and Toronto by Joel Carriere. The label is now based in Toronto, Nashville and Los Angeles. History Dine Alone was born out of founder Joel Carriere's home ...

* 2024 '' Love and Lore'' -

Split albums/Collaborations

* 2008 ''Bristle Ridge'' – with Austin Lucas – Hometown Caravan – LP (Ltd. European Tour Ed.) / Ten Four Records (Collaboration) * 2009 ''Anderson Family Bluegrass / Chuck Ragan'' – Stowaway Sound / Ten Four Records (Split LP) * 2010 ''Chuck Ragan / Darren Gibson'' Poison City Records (Split LP) * 2010 ''Ravi / Chuck Ragan'' – Cursing Concrete ( Rumbleseat cover) / Masses EP, self-published * 2011 ''Chuck Ragan / Sam Russo / Jimmy Islip / Helen Chambers' / ''Specialist Subject Releases (Collaboration) * 2014 ''Kindred Spirit'' (split EP with

)

Soundtracks

* 2013: ''"It's Better in the Wind" Soundtrack'' – TenFour Records * 2016: ''

'' – TenFour Records

Live albums

* 2006: ''Live at the Troubadour'' – Self-Release (CD-R) * 2007: ''Los Feliz'' –

(CD/LP) * 2009: ''Live at Hafenkneipe Zürich'' – Leech Records (LP – Ltd. to 1500 copies) * 2009: ''Chuck plays Frankfurt'' – Fanclub (DoLP – Ltd. to 300 hand-numbered copies) * 2009: ''Live from Rock Island: The Daytrotter Sessions'' – Side One Dummy Records (10" Vinyl) * 2010: ''Live at Cafe Du Nord''(CD/LP) * 2016: ''The Winter Haul Live''

Singles

*''The 7-Inch Club'' – 2006–2007,

(Ragan released a series of seven singles, one per month, referred to collectively as "The 7-Inch Club" because only those who had pre-ordered the entire set ahead of time could obtain copies.) The series was also pressed on a CD entitled The Blueprint Sessions which accompanied the final mailing of the 7-Inch Club. *"Something May Catch Fire" *"Rotterdam" 2009

Music videos

*"You and I Alone" *"Something May Catch Fire" *"Nomad by Fate (Punks in Vegas Session)" *"Vagabond"

References

External links

Chuck RaganThe Revival Tour
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ragan, Chuck Living people American punk rock singers Folk punk musicians Singers from Florida 1974 births Rise Records artists SideOneDummy Records artists 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers Hot Water Music members