The Red Clay Strays are a family affair… at least partially.
The band from Mobile, Alabama – consisting of Drew Nix (electric guitar, vocals, harmonica), Zach Rishel (electric guitar), Andrew Bishop (bass), John Hall (drums), Sevans Henderson (keys), and frontman Brandon Coleman – has gone from up and coming to house hold name in just a couple of years.
Their first two albums, Moment of Truth (2022) and Made by These Moments (2024), acted as stellar introductions into the world of music. Now that they are established and here to stay, there’s growing excitement and anticipation for their third album, Grateful, which is set to drop on June 5.
There’s some big things in store for the Red Clay Strays in 2026 (including a tour to go along with the new album drop), and it’s all thanks to their big break, which got started in 2022 when their hit song “Wondering Why” was release. It was in 2023 that the track took off online (yes, TikTok) and gave the band much deserved attention.
Was it fate that gave the Red Clay Strays their big break? Or was it a well-timed shift in responsibility? The band has previously said that they only started gaining traction on social media – specifically TikTok – after frontman Brandon Coleman’s brother, Matthew, took over their online presence.
Here’s a picture of the two brothers together, in case you’ve never seen the face of the man responsible for so much of the behind the scenes work for the Red Clay Strays:
As the band has gotten bigger, Matthew Coleman’s offstage job with his brother’s band has grown out more and more.
Matthew is the official photographer and videographer for the Red Clay Strays, in addition to his role of social media manager. He also serves as one of the band’s co-writers. Think of the band’s biggest hits… got any in mind? Well, the brother of Brandon Coleman was likely behind them.
His songwriting credits include “I’m Still Fine” and “Wanna Be Loved,” as well as the band’s latest single, “Demons In Your Choir.” And thanks to a behind the scenes video that the Red Clay Strays posted, fans found out that Matthew also serves as the director for the music videos that the band produces (that duty falls underneath his videographer position).
If you take a look at the video below, you’ll see how gifted Matthew Coleman is as a director. He’s tackled the previous music videos for “If I Didn’t Know You” and “People Hatin’,” and though those were complex in their own right, it appears that there were plenty of moving parts for “Demons In Your Choir.”
Check it out:
Pretty convenient that the frontman for one of the biggest bands in all of country music just so happened to have a multitalented brother that’s basically a catch-all type of guy for the Red Clay Strays, eh? He’s truly the unsung hero of the band.
The band has been making music since 2016, but Brandon and Matthew have been working together for their entire lives. You always hear people say “don’t work with family and friends.” For the Red Clay Strays, they went against the grain on that one… and it’s safe to say that it’s worked out quite well for them.
