The Red Clay Strays

There's no mistaking the Southern roots of the Red Clay Strays, a band that straddles the line separating Americana and contemporary country. Hailing from Alabama, the quintet fuse Southern rock with an outlaw stance, anchoring their swagger with a heavy dose of soul and the sharp, brawny literary bent of Red Dirt country. All this was evident on their raw, picturesque 2022 debut album, Moment of Truth, which bore "Wondering Why," a slow-burning love song that became a viral hit. The track crossed over from the Internet to the Billboard charts in late 2023, by which time the band was cutting a second album with acclaimed Americana producer Dave Cobb. Natives of Mobile, Alabama, the Red Clay Strays formed in 2016, emerging from a covers band featuring lead vocalist/guitarist Brandon Coleman and bassist Andrew Bishop. After that group dissolved, the pair added guitarist/vocalist Drew Nix -- who helped their previous band land gigs -- guitarist Zach Rishel, and drummer John Hall. Developing a strong work ethic, the band played any gig they could, starting to thread original material in between the covers. In 2019, the Red Clay Strays signed with Conway Entertainment Group, which helped the group land their "Good Godly Woman" in Doctor Sleep, Mike Flanagan's sequel to Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, later that year. The band released two singles -- "No Way to Know" and "Will the Lord Remember Me" -- in 2020, then crowdfunded their debut album, Moment of Truth. Recorded live in the studio and featuring songs largely co-written by Nix and Coleman's brother Matthew, Moment of Truth appeared in 2022. Its first single, "Wondering Why," became a viral online hit; it eventually climbed into the Billboard charts at the end of 2023. The Red Clay Strays responded to the success by staying on the road, playing a bevy of festivals, and opening for everybody from Old Crow Medicine Show, Paul Cauthen, and Nikki Lane to Kip Moore, Eric Church, and Brothers Osborne. All the touring helped the band graduate from clubs to amphitheaters to their debut at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium with a stint lasting three nights, a rare achievement matched only by a handful of other acts, including Turnpike Troubadours and Chris Stapleton. During all this activity, the group released the EP The Red Clay Strays Live AF Session in August of that year; a single of "Sunshine" pulled from the same sessions followed in December. By that point, the Red Clay Strays signed with Thirty Tigers and recorded their highly anticipated 2024 album with producer Dave Cobb.
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