photo by Geoff Wilbur

Debo Ray

Sanctuary (Barside), Maynard, MA

June 13, 2025

As I’ve mentioned before, so many early evening shows at Sanctuary’s bar feature the Boston area’s best musicians, many of whom you rarely see this far out in the suburbs, offering a cool chance to see the top talent of the region without having to travel into the big city. Singer Debo Ray was joined by Scott Tarulli on guitar on this particular evening at Sanctuary.

Debo Ray’s vocal talents cover a broad range, from soft and smooth to powerful, with the ability to adeptly handle the soaring notes and the nearly-spoken ones, working the full gamut of emotions into her performance. Debo included a varied mix of originals and covers into the evening’s performance. As is usually the case, the originals were very well-suited to Debo’s skills, while the covers she selected for the evening were equally good at showing off the range of her vocal talent.

photo by Geoff Wilbur

One of the other standout features of Debo Ray’s performance during the evening was her between-songs banter – a skill that doesn’t come easily, if at all, to a lot of top musicians of her caliber. She had great stories to tell and connected very well with the crowd, something particularly important in an intimate setting like the small bar at Sanctuary. The banter added to the appreciation of the songs and left the audience feeling as if they were getting to know Debo a bit over the course of the evening. Not only does this make an evening’s performance enjoyable, but it’s a great way to get fans coming back again and again.

Early in the first set, the audience was treated to the grooving, soulful original “Time With You.” Debo followed it up with her rendition of Corinna Bailey Rae’s “Closer,” a very heartfelt performance with just the lightest instrumentation helping keep the focus on her powerful vocals.

Next up were a pair of originals. The first, “Tell Me What You Want,” delivered a variation of tempos and rhythm, showcasing a fair bit of Debo Ray’s vocal range, from soaring to nearly spoken. The next, “Filly,” serves up funky rhythm with vocal power at times, nuance at others. By design, there’s not a lot of soft subtlety on this song, but Debo’s vocal power remains strong even when nuanced.

Sanctuary; photo by Geoff Wilbur

A pair of covers followed. Debo Ray delivered a very soulful rendition of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” serving up vocals with range, power, and personality. That was followed by a cool cover of Emily King’s “Distance,” which featured lots of vocal runs – something heard not just here but frequently elsewhere in other songs, as well, the sort of thing that plays exceptionally well for a skilled vocalist in a live performance.

Debo closed the set with an original and another cover. On the original, “Now You’re Here,” the opening vocals hit oh, so sweet! It’s a smooth, swaying song, with a lyrical rhythm in the verses that’s next-level, particularly the way she delivers it. Next up was a rendition of Roberta Flack’s “Killing Me Softly” that Debo kinda absolutely nailed.

The second song of set number two returned to Roberta Flack, this time with “Fell Like Makin’ Love,” in which Debo worked a bunch of vocal gymnastics.

It was followed by an original, “Gaslight,” that is next-level when performed live. There was something almost theatrical in Debo Ray’s delivery, so intense and pretty raw.

She followed that with a couple of covers. First, to cleanse the palate with smoothness following the raw emotion of “Gaslight,” Debo served up Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You,” proving she’s fully able to deliver the vocal richness necessary to sing an Alicia Keys number. Then she dealt the fun, with a warm, rich, full-vocalled, emotionally-voiced performance of Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey.”

photo by Geoff Wilbur

With the show nearing a close, original “Take That” was next. It’s a really powerful, self-empowered proclamation-driven song, very much a song for people psyching themselves up to take control of their lives. Just wow, the emotional strength in the vocals of this powerful ballad!

Next up, Debo turned to Aretha. Specifically, Aretha Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman,” an to be honest, I had considered making an Aretha comparison earlier, but, well, after I heard Debo’s strong performance of this song, if I had any doubts before (which I didn’t), she erased them by proving she has a voice capable of being mentioned favorably in the same sentence with Aretha.

Debo closed the night with another original, “Cope.” Penned during pandemic, it’s a thoughtful, jazzy number.

And that brought to an end yet another Sanctuary bar show, as the venue continues to bring Boston’s top talent out to Maynard, close enough that I can easily get in to hear them perform… and to let you know that you shouldn’t miss them.

Looking Ahead

I know that, among those of you in the Boston area who read this blog, many of you are much closer to the city than I am. Well, good news for you. According to the “shows” page on Debo Ray’s website, she has a bunch of shows coming up. From now through the end of the year, in addition to several Boston shows, she’ll be in Medford, Malden, Somerville, and North Andover. And there’s a February 28, 2026 concert booked for the big stage at Sanctuary in Maynard. Debo Ray’s vocal talent with a full band? It’s a double-bill with The ABeez. If your schedule permits, that’ll be a must-see event for those of us in the outer burbs… or for folks travelling out from the city. So many good restaurants in Maynard to make an evening of it. Just sayin’.