Macy Gray has the kind of voice that sticks upon first exposure, a dichotomous curiosity that’s both gritty and plush, as if Billie Holiday employed a softened, higher-pitched delivery. That goes double for Gray’s lyrical interests — where Holiday was known for tackling societal issues through visceral personal storytelling, Gray uses her eccentric worldview to reveal often unorthodox romantic predilections.
The Ohio native’s distinctive vocal emissions first surfaced via 1999’s On How Life Is, an uncommonly accomplished debut that mixed contemporary pop stylings with old-school soul and R&B. With song titles like “Sex-o-matic Venus Freak,” “Caligula” and “Why Didn’t You Call Me,” it’s not hard to imagine what was on Gray’s mind. In fact, “Caligula” opens with this scene setter: “Hush, the neighbors hear you moaning and groaning/But I just can’t help it, ‘specially when we be boning.”
But it’s not all horny. “I Try,” still her best-known song a quarter-century later, turns on the tender: “I try to say goodbye and I choke/Try to walk and I stumble/Though I try to hide it, it’s clear/My world crumbles when you are not near.”
Gray embarked last summer on a worldwide tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of On How Life Is, and it continues this year with stops across America before culminating with an Aug. 29 show in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. If previous set lists hold true, Gray plays the album in its entirety — sometimes in sequential order, sometimes not — and sprinkles in a cover or two (the most interesting being Radiohead’s “Creep”).
It’s been seven years since Gray last released a studio album, but a new effort seems to be in the works.
“We’re in the middle of it and we want to drop some songs to see what everybody thinks,” Gray told the British newspaper The Sun back in April. “Then I will probably be able to put out an album by September. I like raw music with less production to show my voice, so everything is kind of stripped down. It’s really cool. I’m having fun.”
Macy Gray plays the Ludlow Garage on Aug. 3 at 7:30 p.m. More info: ludlowgaragecincinnati.com.
This story is featured in CityBeat’s July 23 print edition.
This article appears in Jul 9-22, 2025.