It’s going to be a big summer for the Red Clay Strays.
One of the fastest growing acts out there, the Red Clay Strays are less than a month away from embarking on a massive summer tour that already includes over 40 shows with more to be announced.
The latest date added to the tour may be the biggest, though, as the band announced earlier this week that they will be making their Grand Ole Opry debut on May 31.
A huge milestone for a grassroots group like the Red Clay Strays, or any country band for that matter, their Grand Ole Opry date will kick off a potential career-changing summer tour which will provide them plenty of opportunities to spread their music to new audiences across the country.
Aside from plenty of headlining shows, the Red Clay Strays will open for some of the genre’s biggest acts, like Eric Church and Dierks Bentley among others, and play at festivals like Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Under the Big Sky, and more.
A few days after they announced the majority of those tour dates, the Strays took to Instagram to alert fans of the big Opry news.
“If you would’ve told us we’d be playing the Grand Ole Opry when we started, we’d have called ya crazy. It sounds crazy to us even now! Great way to kick off the Summer ’23 Tour!”
If you’re not listening to the Red Clay Strays yet, the touring momentum they have at the moment should be more than enough proof that needs to change.
The five-piece band out of Mobile, Alabama is one of the best up and coming acts in all of music, let alone the country music scene, and they are one of the latest additions to the long list of spectacular music to come out of the state of Alabama.
Drawing inspiration from an amalgamation of genres including soul, blues, rock, and country, the Red Clay Strays have forged their own unique Gulf Shore southern rock sound that is undoubtedly reminiscent of the southern greats of yesteryear, yet distinctly innovative, modern, and their own.
And it has only taken them one album (and several years on the road) to perfect it.
The Red Clay Strays released their debut album Moment of Truth back in April of 2022, and with just 12 songs, the band introduced themselves to the masses in a triumphant manner.
They’re led by frontman Brandon Coleman, whose appearance and vocals immediately invoke nostalgic comparisons to some of the best southern frontmen of decades past – before the rest of the band brings you back into the moment.
The backing band is composed of Zach Rishel on electric guitar, bassist Andrew Bishop, John Hall on the drums, and jack-of-all-trades Drew Nix who shares vocals duties while playing guitar and harmonica. And when these dudes get on stage together, they put on one of the best live shows music has to offer.
I could sit here and keep writing on and on, trying to convince y’all how great these guys are, but the music itself will get the point across much better than I can. So while there isn’t a deep catalog of Red Clay Strays music to pick from, here is the 12-song tracklist from one of my favorite albums of last year, the Red Clay Strays’ debut record Moment of Truth.
“Stone’s Throw”
“Moment of Truth”
“Do Me Wrong”
“Wondering Why”
“Forgive”
“Heavy Hearts”
“Ghosts”
“She’s No Good”
“Don’t Care”
“Killers”
“Sunshine”
“Doin’ Time”
And while we’re at it, since there is only one more song in their catalog at the moment, check out “Good Godly Woman,” the Red Clay Strays’ most played song to date.
The Red Clay Strays are a force to be reckoned with, and a name everyone will know well sooner than later. If you have any sense, I suggest you catch one of their shows this summer, because these guys are on quite the trajectory now.
