Vonray was an American alternative rock band from Orlando, Florida, United States. The group formed around singer/songwriter Vaughan Rhea, originally from Tennessee, who had come to Orlando playing as an acoustic coffee shop act. Inspired by grunge music, Rhea put together a band with his brother, Dave, and began playing somewhat harder sounding tunes, though still acoustic-based. Soon after, the band was opening for Third Eye Blind and Seven Mary Three, among other national acts, and released an independent debut album, Panes, as VonRa in 1997. A second independent album release, VonRa, followed in 1999, and a third, Fame, came in 2001.
As major-label attention increased, the band scored a high-profile slot opening for fellow Florida-based rockers, Creed, in summer of 2002. The band was signed to Elektra Records in late 2002 and, under the moniker "Vonray," saw their first major label release on Elektra Records in early 2003 (April 8). The band charted a single hit in the US in 2002 with the song "Inside Out," which was featured on the WB Network's television show Smallville, on which the band made an appearance, and its soundtrack; "Inside Out" subsequently peaked at No. 31 on Billboard's US Top 40 Mainstream chart and No. 32 on Billboard's US Hot Adult Top 40 chart. A second single, "I'll Show You," followed but received little promotion from the label and failed to chart. Due to Elektra Records then merging with Atlantic Records, promotion for the band all but ceased, and the band was dropped from the label soon after. A casualty of the merger, Rhea and the band went on hiatus in October 2003.
Due to the success of an online petition, a fan-demanded reunion show happened September 2007 at Hard Rock Live Orlando. The performance was later featured on Orlando's Orange TV 'LiveWire' program, the video of which was awarded as a 2008 winner at the 29th Annual Telly Awards. An intended DVD release of that historic performance was delayed indefinitely.
More than 10 years later, still a hometown hero in and around Orlando, Florida, Rhea periodically performs locally at area events and occasionally graces the stage with various incarnations of the Vonray band.