Raphael McGregor

Raphael McGregor is one of the most in-demand steel players in New York City. Since moving to Brooklyn in 2002, he has had the opportunity to perform and record with a wide variety of renowned musicians, most notably Willie Nelson, Darol Anger and Michael Manring, Adam Levy, Jason Loughlin, Emmy-Award winning composer Paul Brill, Alan Harris, Noam Pikelny, Matt Munisteri, Cyro Baptista, and Chas Justus and the Red Stick Ramblers.  For eight years he was the guitarist and steel player for the international touring act Nation Beat, which performed all over North America and Brazil, including such notable venues as Farm Aid, Montreal Jazzfest, Porto Musical in Recife, Brazil, Stern Grove, the Hollywood Palladium, Globalfest, and New York's Blue Note. As well as being an in-demand sideman for many acts in the New York City area, Raphael is the steel player for the Brain Cloud and regularly leads his own bands.

In 2013, Raphael released his first CD as a leader, Fretless, which continues to garner critical acclaim and is available on CdBaby, Itunes, and in other major digital distribution outlets.  

In 2018, Raphael co-produced the Steel Guitar Unconvention, a celebration of steel guitar music in Brooklyn. The festival is in its third year and has featured artists such as Doug Jernigan, Lucky Oceans, Kashiah Hunter, Dave Easley, Susan Alcorn, Mike Neer, and many other local and national musicians. In 2019 Raphael received a grant from the Brooklyn Arts Council to put on the festival for its second year.