We were lucky to catch up with Rafe Carlson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Rafe, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

For sure, the concept of someone paying me money to play music was pretty unthinkable at the time. I was 22, working a job in my hometown of Hermantown, Minnesota selling campers and motorhomes at a dealership. I had been posting videos of me singing on the internet for 6 months to a year at that point, but had never played a show, and hardly ever sang in front of anyone except close friends and family.
But I remember it, it was a sunny day in April, I was kicking around the idea of quitting my job to “pursue music”- which who the hell knows what that means- but I had this idea on my day off to go play on a sidewalk and see if anyone would stop to listen. And I knew I didn’t want to do it around Hermantown or Duluth, cause I thought I might see someone I know, so I drove up to Two Harbors, on Lake Sueprior, with my guitar and an empty jug of whey protein I’d just finished, wrote “tips” on the side, set it out on the sidewalk by the pier that goes out to the lighthouse, and played for 45-60 minutes. I felt like a complete idiot at first, but people kept passing by, some stopped, eventually there was a good little crowd, and people started throwing money in the jug. I remember making just shy of $50 in about 45 minutes. I thought that was the coolest thing ever. I gave my 2 weeks notice at work that week.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Rafe Carlson, I am a country artist from northern Minnesota. I grew up in a pretty cold part of the world- hunting, fishing, riding ATVs, snowshoeing, skiing, working outdoors, you name it. A lot of the traditional things you hear them sing about on the radio, we do up there too, it’s just -20 degrees.
So my sound came from that, country music but colder, tougher.. I also grew up singing along in the car seat to a lot more than country- Allman Brothers. 38 Special, Foghat, Skynyrd, Boston, you name it.
I grew up in a blue collar family, my dad and uncles built houses for a living, my mom was in bands in the 80s, and got me my first guitar and taught me how to play. I started getting into rock and roll when I watched my older cousins Steve and Dave play in bands when I was 11 or 12.
Today I tour with them, all over the Midwest, I play shows all over the country, we’ve opened for dozens of the biggest names in country and rock, I’ve played some of my bucket list venues.. a lot happened in the in-between there, and it was a lot of hard work, and implementing lessons I learned from my family to be able carve out a career in music.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Yes, I remember an old YouTube video by a strength/fitness coach I used to watch, Elliot Hulse.. I can’t remember the name of the video, but he essentially said “quit your job”- to create a vacuum. When you have all these ideas, and energy, and especially youth, but you don’t have TIME, because you’re working 60-80 hours a week, quit your job. If you’re ambitious and driven, you will fill that time vacuum with something much more fruitful. And it will be of your own doing, and your own creation.

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl comes to mind as an important read for pretty much anyone, entrepreneur or not. The idea of creating your own meaning of life, and allowing that to be the driving force behind your will to survive and succeed.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

This isn’t exactly one story, but I think it provides a unique perspective, especially in the entertainment industry.
I came from sales, so I had to get over the fear and/or discouragement of rejection real quick. Like on day one of the job. And I think that gave me a unique toolset going into music.
I was selling hundred thousand dollar fifth wheels, and motorhomes. That’s not like selling cars. I got used to people ghosting me, not returning calls, emails, flaking, not showing up to appointments, being late, all that. Really quick. I think that prepared me for the music business fast. I’m pretty sure everyone in the music biz here in Nashville keeps their weekly calendar on an etch-a-sketch. It is the flakeyest industry. You have to be tenacious, persistent, resilient… and the funny thing is people don’t expect those things from you when you’re a musician. They expect you to be on drugs, or spacey, writing poetry. Not closing deals. So that ended up working in my favor.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.rafecarlson.com
• Instagram: https://Www.instagram.com/rafecarlson
• Facebook: https://Www.facebook.com/rafecarlsonofficial
• Youtube: https://Www.youtube.com/@rafecarlsonmusic
• Other: https://Www.spotify.com/rafecarlson