Triple Tigers recording artist Scotty McCreery has never been one to shy away from sharing his faith, even expressing the duality of his spirituality on his No. 1 hit song “In Between” where he sang “I ain’t all Holy water and I ain’t all Jim Beam…I’m somewhere in between.” Just in time for Easter, McCreery is getting personal again with today’s release of his latest track, “Red Letter Blueprint,” from his upcoming album Rise and Fall, out May 10th. Listen to “Red Letter Blueprint” below.
“My faith is everything to me,” said McCreery. “It’s held me up during my lows, and it’s been with me when I celebrate my highs. This new album was influenced by the rises and falls in my life through the years, so I wanted to sing about what sustains me. I’ve featured songs about my wife and my son, but I also wanted to share a song about my faith. I hope it is comforting to anyone who may need to hear these words.”
Written by McCreery with Derek George, Brent Anderson, Jeremy Bussey and Monty Criswell, “Red Letter Blueprint” is about taking solace in the belief that no matter how far away true peace seems, the path to get there is clearly marked. Building from a tender piano melody and McCreery’s convicted yet empathetic vocals, this insightful ballad about inner strength and encouragement finds him leaning on the comforting clarity of eternal faith:
Where can you go when you ain't getting nowhere
Every turn is a dead-end road
The rain starts to fall and you're so lost out there
Really only one place I know
When your whole world falls to pieces
And you don't know how to build it back
There's a red letter blueprint in King James black
McCreery is set to return to Talk Shop Live this Tuesday, April 2 at 8 PM ET / 7 PM CT in support of Rise and Fall. During his live appearance, which will be hosted by Storme Warren, the country crooner will perform new songs from the album and answer viewer questions while fans will be able to pre-order autographed CDs and vinyl. Tune in here: https://talkshop.live/watch/aIQsXCYbR26a
McCreery will also make his first-ever appearance at Nashville’s famed Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival on Wednesday, April 3 at 9:00 PM CT. He will join a guitar pull at The Listening Room along with Ingrid Andress and Benjy Davis, as well as Chase McGill who co-wrote “Stuck Behind a Tractor” with McCreery and Rhett Akins that is featured on McCreery’s upcoming Rise and Fall album. For more information on the sold-out show and Tin Pan South, visit tinpansouth.com.
Rise and Fall will feature 13 tracks that find him exploring themes of heartbreak, rowdy nights, nostalgia, faith, newfound joy, fatherhood and enduring love, resulting in a project full of insightful storytelling that includes his current Top 10 and rising single “Cab in a Solo.” The album, coming out May 10, was produced by McCreery’s longtime production team of Frank Rogers, Derek Wells and Aaron Eshuis.
McCreery co-wrote 12 of the 13 songs on the album, which will be released digitally as well as on CD and vinyl. In addition, Amazon will release a limited edition, forest green vinyl version of the album.
“I know every artist says it, but this is truly my favorite album I’ve made so far,” shares McCreery. “I wanted to create an album that reflected the music I grew up on and wasn’t chasing trends. So, I brought several of my songwriting buddies to the mountains of North Carolina to sit down and write a full-on country album that told a story, start to finish, and spoke to my soul. We’ve been performing most of the album live on the road and the response from the audiences has been overwhelming. I can’t wait for everyone to hear Rise and Fall when it comes out May 10th.”
The North Carolina native knows all too well there’s a rhythm to life and a cycle of ups and downs. And right now, he’s on the upswing.
Now 30 years old and a seasoned country music veteran selling out concerts across the globe with five consecutive No. 1 hits under his belt, McCreery is also a dedicated husband and father, welcoming a son named Avery in 2022, whose impact on the singer is highlighted in several songs on the album. Recently, he even celebrated the milestone of all milestones for a guy who grew up on Randy Travis, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and Ronnie Milsap; he was invited by his musical hero Garth Brooks to become the newest member of the iconic Grand Ole Opry. McCreery’s induction will take place on April 20 with another of his heroes, Josh Turner, officially welcoming him into the Opry family.
But folks like McCreery know it means more when you’ve seen the other side. For him, each highlight has come in contrast to a challenge – things like the loss of his first record deal and the year of naysaying uncertainty that followed before he built himself up again, brick by brick. As a result, Rise and Fall comes from an artist who knows to appreciate the ride – no matter where it leads.
“I feel like we’re on the rise now, but I’ve fallen pretty low as well,” McCreery admits. “I learned from every little part of that, and it helped me to know who I was as a person – let alone an artist. The rises and the falls helped craft these songs. They made this album what it is.”
“Red Letter Blueprint” is the fifth song released from the album, following lead single “Cab in a Solo” (currently Top 10 and rising) and tracks “Slow Dance,” “Can’t Pass the Bar” and “Love Like This.” A full listing of the album’s songs follows.
Tickets for upcoming tour dates are on sale now at ScottyMcCreery.com.
About Scotty McCreery
Scotty McCreery has been a household name for nearly half his life, ever since making history in 2011 as both the first country artist and the youngest male artist of any genre to debut his first studio album, the Platinum-certified Clear as Day, at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. With his forthcoming album Rise and Fall set for release May 10, featuring current single “Cab in a Solo” along with 12 additional tracks, McCreery explores classic themes of heartbreak, rowdy nights, nostalgia, faith, newfound joy, fatherhood, and enduring love, and through it all, felt comfortable being himself, resulting in a project full of electrified twang, rich baritone vocals and insightful storytelling. The 30-year-old has sold more than 4 million albums and achieved 5 consecutive No.1 hits: the RIAA Platinum-certified “Damn Strait,” the RIAA Gold certified “You Time,” the RIAA Gold certified “In Between,” the RIAA Platinum certified “This is It,” and the RIAA Triple Platinum certified ‘Five More Minutes.” The North Carolina native has earned one Triple Platinum, five Platinum and four Gold singles; one Platinum and two Gold albums; won the 10th season of “American Idol” in 2011 at age 17; was named the ACM New Artist of the Year in 2011; won the CMT Music Award for Breakthrough Video of the Year (“The Trouble with Girls”) in 2012; and BMI Awards for writing One of the Top 50 Country Songs of the Year five times (in 2015 for “See You Tonight,” in 2018 for “Five More Minutes,” in 2019 for “This is It,” in 2021 for “In Between,” and in 2022 for “You Time”). He was awarded Pandora Billionaire status in 2021 in recognition of his music achieving more than one billion streams on Pandora. His song “Five More Minutes” inspired two popular holiday movies which aired on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Network: “Five More Minutes” in 2021 and “Five More Minutes: Moments Like These” in 2022. He released his first book Go Big or Go Home: The Journey Toward the Dream in 2016. His most recent album is Same Truck: The Deluxe Album. This fall McCreery was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame and was most recently invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry by Garth Brooks. The singer/songwriter married his high school sweetheart Gabi in 2018, and the couple had their first son Avery in October 2022. For more information, visit ScottyMcCreery.com.