From Six Days to a Lifetime

(This article was written by Abigail Muniz-Garcia and was featured in the February 2026 issue of Explore Harlingen Magazine.)

Photo courtesy of In Six Days.

It started on a small stage in Weslaco, Texas in 2012: a woman, her guitar, and a request to join the band on stage for a couple of songs. Armed with her vocals and guitar, Magda performed Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac. That was how she met her now-husband and bandmate Ray.

Ray and Magda Peynado who went on to form their band, In Six Days, five years after initially meeting, play their music at places like The 83 Winery in Harlingen, Upper Deck Hotel & Bar in South Padre Island, and have even ventured to the Texas hill country to play tunes for crowds in Kerrville.

Photo courtesy of Lisa Campos.

Magda still remembers the reaction of the crowd the first time she played with Ray and his band.

“The crowd just… screamed, they just loved it,” she said.

Between their initial meeting, to forming their band, Ray became Magda’s guitar and vocal instructor, helping her hone her musical skills. They married in 2015. Magda supported Ray in his music endeavors and continued practicing her skills until they finally formed their band in 2017 when she asked Ray to join her.

“It wasn’t that easy,” Magda recalled. “He said, ‘go out and get some gigs.’ And I did. I don’t know how that happened, but I landed 10 gigs, all in a row. I did (that) without them even knowing us.”

After playing those 10 gigs, Ray left the band he was in to devote his time to playing with his wife in their newly formed band.

Photo courtesy of In Six Days.

The duo likes to play music from the 1970s and 1990s as well as country music, but they say they can do everything.

“It depends who we are playing for,” Magda said. “We just really love what we do.”

Magda’s guitar playing has improved with her husband’s help and Magda has in turn helped him grow professionally as well. She has pushed him outside of his comfort zone vocally by encouraging him to try new songs.

“She helps a lot with giving me structure and encouraging me to learn songs that maybe I wouldn’t have necessarily wanted to learn,” he said. “I’ve played with so many different bands and I’ve never really sang the lead part… so that’s the strength that I can add.”

“And that’s because I push him to do it,” Magda added with a giggle.

The duo also recently purchased a 1975 Volkswagen bus. After the pandemic, they made a plan and started saving money to purchase a van, reminiscent of the time period and decade they love.

Photo courtesy of In Six Days.

“It was all paid cash. It was all from tips from love. That’s why we named her Heartlight,” Magda said, the name also a reference to a Neil Diamond song.

“Playing the music from the 1970s, it’s an icon from that era,” Ray said of their new/old red vehicle.

The music they play that helped pay for their ‘Heartlight’ gets a response that Ray always appreciates.

“I just enjoy seeing people smile and the reactions to the songs that we play… that they’re enjoying themselves and having a good time,” he said. “Being able to see their expressions.”

Looking ahead, the band isn’t opposed to expanding their fanbase outside of Texas and possibly writing and recording their own music one day.

And if you’re wondering where their band name comes from, it all started as an inside joke early on into their musical journey.

“When we were first dating, people always came up to us and they always asked the same question- ‘Hey you guys are so cute, how long have you known each other?” Magda said. “And we’d look at them real seriously and say– six days.”

Unrehearsed, both Magda and Ray utter ‘six days’ at the exact same moment as if in sync, a testament of the bond they have that translates to whatever they do.

For more information on the band, to inquire about a private party, and to see where they will be playing next, please visit their website: insixdaysband.com where you can also find links to their social media.