Clarifying the “controversial” comment.
It seems as if anything that The Red Clay Strays touch lately has turned to gold. After being one of the buzziest bands in the alt. country scene over the past few years, thanks to the success of Moment of Truth and Made by These Moments, the Alabama band broke out in a big way this last November.
If you’ve been paying attention to them, you know they were bound to become a mainstay after winning Emerging Artist of the Year at the 2024 Americana Awards, winning New Vocal Duo or Group at the 2025 ACM Awards and scoring a 3x platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for their breakout hit, “Wondering Why,” along with a gold certification for their debut album, Moment of Truth.
As previously mentioned, however, their big mainstream break happened back in November thanks to their huge night at the 59th annual CMA Awards, delivering a killer performance of their current single, “People Hatin’” and, more importantly, dethroning Old Dominion as Vocal Group of the Year en route to their first-ever CMA win. They’d follow that up just two weeks ago and dethrone Old Dominion once again, this time taking home their first-ever ACM Award for Group of the Year.
One thing that has always stuck out about the Strays, much like their contemporaries such as Zach Bryan, Sam Barber, Flatland Cavalry and more, is that they’ve been making an incredible amount of waves without the need for any radio play.
It should go without saying at this point that country radio (and radio in general) is all but dead. While, of course, that’s not saying that it’s completely irrelevant, when you have streaming services and social media like TikTok dominating the way that fans interact and consume artists’ music, there’s really no way for the format to compete in today’s current climate.
Like nearly anyone paying attention to the current state of the music industry, Red Clay is aware of country radio’s lack of impact over the years. In particular, bassist Andrew Bishop turned heads in a recent Billboard article when he accurately described radio as being all but dead.
“It’s never been a goal of ours to make a radio song. Look how far we have gotten with no radio play. We got a CMA (Award) with three country radio stations playing us, and one of them is our local radio station. People are bending over backward for radio, and especially in the day of social media, I don’t think you have to have it. Honestly, I think radio is dead.”
In the same interview, frontman Brandon Coleman walked that quote from his bassist back a bit, and clarified that they would happily take some more love from the radio. That being said, that’s not going to happen because they change up what they are doing to better fit into the current radio model.
“We’re certainly not going to change to try to get on the radio, but if the radio decides to start playing what we’re doing already, then we’ll take it.”
I don’t think anyone would truly argue with what Bishop said. At its core, he pointed out the power of social media and how the internet has allowed incredible bands such as his to thrive without the need for terrestrial radio, while simultaneously correctly pointing out that radio itself is not dominating the way the average person consumes music.
With that being said, it ended up receiving some criticism (because what doesn’t nowadays). Because of this, Bishop took to Instagram this morning to clear the air and clarify the quote.
In the post, he’d explain that he never meant to insult anyone who works in the industry or those who support it. Instead, as previously mentioned, he wanted to highlight how today’s era, with social media at the forefront, allows bands such as Red Clay to thrive and impact their listeners with authentic music that’s not trying to be a “radio hit.”
“I want to clarify something I said recently about ‘radio being dead,’ because I think it was taken a little out of context. My point was never meant to be a jab at radio or the people who support it. What I meant is that artists today don’t have to create music with the sole focus of ‘making a radio hit’ the way they may have had in the past. In this era of social media, there are more ways than ever for genuine songs to find their people.
For us, the goal has always been to make honest music that feels real to us. We’re grateful that those songs have connected the way they have, and we’re also incredibly thankful for the radio stations that have embraced our music and continue to play our songs.”
Honestly, it’s a bit of a shame that Bishop even needed to clarify his statement with Billboard. From the get-go, the bassist was never trying to disparage anyone in the industry or the format itself. There’s satellite radio that generally plays better music, as well as some indie stations that are still out curating their own playlists… they do a great job. But Andy made the (correct) assessment that the way we are consuming music has changed drastically over the past decade, and, due to the rise of social media and streaming services, radio has been made all but obsolete for a lot of people.
It’s not a coincidence that bands like The Red Clay Strays, Treaty Oak Revival, Turnpike Troubadours and more, as well as artists like Zach Bryan, Sam Barber, Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson and others, can have this much success both critically and commercially despite getting next to no nationwide radio play. Bishop was simply saying what we all know here.
If you want to take a look at the discrepancies in country radio’s batch of #1 hits from 2025 in comparison to how the general public consumed them on streaming services, read HERE.
Grateful Tour Dates
July 30 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion with The Revivalist & Haley Reinhart
August 1 – Boston, MA – TD Garden with The Revivalist & Haley Reinhart
August 5 – Laval, CA – Place Bell with The Revivalist & Haley Reinhart
August 7 – Philadelphia, PA – TD Pavilion at The Mann with The Revivalist & Brent Cobb
August 9 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden with The Revivalist & Brent Cobb
August 16 – Sioux Falls, SD – Denny Sanford PREMIER Center with Dylan Gossett & Sweet Talk
August 18 – Grand Forks, ND – Alerus Center with Dylan Gossett & Sweet Talk
August 19 – Bismarck, ND – Bismarck Event Center with Dylan Gossett & Sweet Talk
August 21 – Bozeman, MT – Brick Breeden Fieldhouse with Sweet Talk
August 22 – Missoula, MT – Adams Ceter with Dylan Gossett & Sweet Talk
August 26 – Spokane, WA – Numerica Veterans Arena with Wyatt Flores & Sweet Talk
August 27 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena with Wyatt Flores & Sweet Talk
August 29 – Portland, OR – Moda Center with Wyatt Flores & Sweet Talk
August 30 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena with Wyatt Flores & Sweet Talk
September 2 – West Valley City, UT – Maverik Center with Dylan Gossett & Sweet Talk
September 4 – Stateline, NV – Lake Tahoe Amphitheater at Caesars Republic with Dylan Gossett & Sweet Talk
September 11 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center with Dylan Gossett & Sweet Talk
September 12 – Ontario, CA – Toyota Arena with Dylan Gossett & Sweet Talk
September 16 – San Diego, CA – Pechanga Arena San Diego with Dylan Gossett & Sweet Talk
September 17 – Phoenix, AZ – Desert Diamond Arena with Dylan Gossett & Sweet Talk
September 20 – San Antonio, TX – Frost Bank Center with Muscadine Bloodline & Sweet Talk
September 30 – Toronto, CA – RBC Amphitheater – with The Revivalist & Haley Reinhart
October 1 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena with The Revivalist & Haley Reinhart
October 3 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena with The Revivalist & Haley Reinhart
October 7 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena with Shane Smith & the Saints & Brent Cobb
October 14 – Orlando, FL – Kia Center with The Revivalist & Haley Reinhart
October 15 – Savannah, GA – Enmarket Arena with The Revivalist & Haley Reinhart
October 17 – Charleston, SC – Credit One Stadium with The Revivalist & Haley Reinhart
October 18 – Greenville, SC – Bon Secours Wellness Arena with The Revivalist & Haley Reinhart
October 22 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena with Brent Cobb & Sierra Ferrell
October 23 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena with Brent Cobb & Sierra Ferrell
October 28 – Knoxville, TN – Food City Center with Wyatt Flores & Brent Cobb
October 31 – Birmingham, AL – Legacy Arena at the BJCC with Shane Smith & the Saints & Brent Cobb
November 5 – Baton Rouge, LA – Raising Cane’s River Center with Muscadine Bloodline & Brent Cobb
November 6 – Bossier City, LA – Brookshire Grocery Arena with Muscadine Bloodline & Brent Cobb
November 8 – Jonesboro, AR – First National Bank Arena with Muscadine Bloodline & Brent Cobb
November 13 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena with Travis Tritt & Brent Cobb
