There are guitarists, and there are psychics, and then there is Ray Ray Star, who has spent his career refusing to be only one thing. By day, and often deep into the night, he is an internationally touring guitarist, a record producer and executive producer, and the Director of Marketing & Promotions for the NBC-aired Real Music Live. To his devoted following, he is also something else entirely: the Rockstar Psychic, whose intuitive readings have earned him a following that extends well beyond the music world.
It is a strange pairing on paper, a life split between amplifiers and intuition, between the recording booth and the reading room. But spend any time with Ray Ray Star or his music and the divide starts to look less like a contradiction and more like a single instinct expressed two different ways. The same sensitivity that lets him read a room, or a person, is the sensitivity that runs through his songwriting. Both practices ask him to listen for what is not being said out loud.
That instinct is on full display in “Ashes Next Door,” Ray Ray Star’s most personal release to date, and now an official nominee for Song of the Year – Rock Artist at the 12th Annual Josie Music Awards, set for September 20 at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. The song draws on sixteen years of his own sobriety, and its title comes from something that actually happened to him: a fire broke out next door after a neighbor struggling with addiction passed out, and the blaze took nearly everything Ray Ray Star owned except two guitars. Featuring vocals from Chris Vayne, the track turns that raw material into something anthemic rather than bleak, a song written from the scar rather than the surface.
The nomination places Ray Ray Star among the honorees at what stands as the largest independent music award show in the world, one built to recognize songwriting and craft over industry backing. It is exactly the kind of recognition a song like “Ashes Next Door” earns on its own terms, and exactly the kind of moment that makes sense for an artist whose whole career has been built outside of conventional lanes. True to form, Ray Ray Star has directed a portion of the song’s proceeds, along with related merchandise sales, to MusiCares, supporting its work with musicians battling addiction.
For an artist who reads intuition for a living, Ray Ray Star seems to have written his own story with the same clarity he offers others: pay attention to the fire next door, turn it into something that helps somebody else, and keep both hands on the guitar the whole time. As the Josie Music Awards approach, that story is finally getting the stage it deserves.
The official website for Ray Ray Star may be found at https://www.rayraystar.com