Meet the Team – Ray Anton

Ray Anton grew up in Miami Springs, the son of a Pan Am Airlines employee, who attended Blessed Trinity School, then went on to Columbus High. He worked at Village Hardware in VG through high school and midway through college. Upon discovering the guitar in high school, he then pursued music in college. During this time he played with a few different bands and started working at the then ultimate music store, Ace Music in North Miami.
Along the way, he supplemented his love of music with realtor and mortgage originator licenses. He moved to a few places in Broward County and worked for several music stores in the area for a few decades before coming back to the River Cities in 2013 to open Ray’s Guitars N Gear in the space next to the very same Village Hardware he worked at when he was younger. His guitar shop became very involved in the area offering open music nights on Wednesdays as well as coordinating different events over the years, including the Fourth of July parade, the River Cities Festival, and Christmas on the Circle. Ray started writing concert reviews for SFL Music Magazine in 2016, and has been a regular contributor since. He also has 3 music projects in the works with his wife, Maria, whom he met at the store; an acoustic duo named MaRaya, a Pat Benatar tribute band called Midnight Angel, and an original hard rock band named Out of the Ashes. Ray will be discussing live entertainment in the River Cities area, as well as musicians that live in the area playing elsewhere. Ray’s Guitars N Gear is more than just a store; it’s a place where the Team comes together to celebrate the love of music.