Michael Ray Captures Relationship Nostalgia with "We Should Get A Drink Sometime"

As current single “Spirits and Demons” with Meghan Patrick climbs the charts at country radio, multi-Platinum hitmaker Michael Ray surprises fans just in time for the holidays with “We Should Get A Drink Sometime,” capturing that urge to reminisce with an old friend or flame that so often consumes us this time of year. Pre-save the song, which will arrive tomorrow, December 8, HERE.
 
“I typically end up cutting more songs than I need when I’m in the studio, and sadly that means there are a few that never get to see the light of day,” shares Ray. “But this song has always been special to me, and it felt like the right time to put it out there. This one is for those of you traveling home for the holidays and reconnecting with those people in your life that you’ve lost touch with, whether you reach out or run into someone you didn’t expect to see.”
 
Written by Thomas Rhett, Rhett Akins, Mike Busbee and Josh Kerr, “We Should Get A Drink Sometime” is a hard-hitting ballad. No stranger to showcasing vulnerability through his delivery, Ray’s voice shines brightly against sole piano accompaniment.

Following the premiere of the official music video for “Spirits and Demons” with CMT and Paramount’s Time Square billboard, Ray joins CMT Hot 20 for their Video of the Year episode, filmed on a U.S. Marine base in Okinawa, Japan. The episode premieres this Saturday, December 9 at 8am CT.
 
“Coming from a family full of first responders, veterans and service members, it meant so much to me to be able to connect with those men and women, especially at this time of year,” shares Ray. “I’m so glad I got the opportunity to say thank you in person and hopefully bring along a little holiday cheer.”
 
Looking ahead to 2024, the Florida native is back in the studio with CMA Album of the Year producer Michael Knox to expand on his latest project Dive Bars & Broken Hearts.
 
About Michael Ray
Forged on the small stages of Florida’s rural communities, Michael Ray has created an impressive foundation. Hits including the RIAA Platinum-certified “Think a Little Less,” the RIAA Platinum-certified “Whiskey And Rain,” the RIAA Gold-certified “Kiss You in the Morning” and the RIAA Gold-certified “One That Got Away” bring his tally to four No. 1 singles – not to mention the RIAA Gold-certified fan favorites “Get to You” and “Her World Or Mine”. Garnering over two billion global streams, more than 650,000 album equivalents and upwards of 150 million YouTube views, he is a true country star who’s performed at the Grand Ole Opry 73 times. Looking to expand his sound, Ray sought out CMA Album of the Year Award-winning producer Michael Knox. The pair have taken his brand of country to a new level for Dive Bars & Broken Hearts, Ray’s six-song EP available now via Warner Music Nashville, featuring current single and haunting duet “Spirits and Demons” with Meghan Patrick, a two-time Canadian Country Music Association Female Artist of the Year. For more information, visit MichaelRayMusic.com or follow him on Instagram and Twitter @MichaelRayMusic and Facebook.com/MusicMichaelRay.

Michael Ray's "Spirits and Demons (with Meghan Patrick)" Comes To Life in New Music Video

With four No. 1 singles to his credit, singer/songwriter Michael Ray is well on his way to another hit with “Spirits and Demons (with Meghan Patrick).” Today he released the song’s intoxicating music video with a CMT multi-platform premiere, including the Paramount Times Square video billboard. Watch the video BELOW.
 
“Growing up, I’d rush home from school, and the first thing I’d do is turn on CMT for the rest of the afternoon,” said Ray. “Watching those music videos helped develop my love for country music and was responsible for introducing me to some of my favorite artists. Whether it’s your first video or 10th, it never gets old seeing it come to life, let alone getting to watch it on a billboard in Times Square.”
 
Directed by Sean Hagwell, the video captures the song’s mood with a smokey set and Ray alone, surrounded by empty broken glasses. The darkness is further enhanced with Meghan Patrick seen separately in a bar with people going about their lives in the background. When the two are filmed performing singing the song, they never face each other.
 
“There’s great contrast in the video between my individual shots and Meghan’s shots,” described Ray. “It shows how people handle the end of a relationship differently, but the result is the same: we can’t drink away our heartbreak.”
 
Of the new single, Music Row Magazine said, “This oomphy-sounding duet sez that booze doesn’t really cure a heartbreak. Both partners sing with gusto.”
 
In addition to the new song and video, Ray wraps a busy year of touring as he heads back into the studio with multi-platinum CMA Album of the Year producer Michael Knox to finish the Dive Bars & Broken Hearts project.

About Michael Ray
Forged on the small stages of Florida’s rural communities, Michael Ray has created an impressive foundation. Hits including the RIAA Platinum-certified “Think a Little Less,” the RIAA Platinum-certified “Whiskey And Rain,” the RIAA Gold-certified “Kiss You in the Morning” and the RIAA Gold-certified “One That Got Away” bring his tally to four No. 1 singles – not to mention the RIAA Gold-certified fan favorites “Get to You” and “Her World Or Mine”. Garnering over two billion global streams, more than 650,000 album equivalents and upwards of 150 million YouTube views, he is a true country star who’s performed at the Grand Ole Opry 73 times. Looking to expand his sound, Ray sought out CMA Album of the Year Award-winning producer Michael Knox. The pair have taken his brand of country to a new level for Dive Bars & Broken Hearts, Ray’s six-song EP available now via Warner Music Nashville, featuring current single and haunting duet “Spirits and Demons” with Meghan Patrick, a two-time Canadian Country Music Association Female Artist of the Year. Currently on the road through the fall, he’s taking his music where it matters: to the people. For more information, visit MichaelRayMusic.com or follow him on Instagram and Twitter @MichaelRayMusic and Facebook.com/MusicMichaelRay.

Michael Ray's Intoxicating "Spirits and Demons" with Meghan Patrick Impacts Country Radio

With four No. 1 singles, singer-songwriter Michael Ray is one of country radio’s most consistent hitmakers. Earlier this summer he released his six-song Dive Bars & Broken Hearts EP to a flurry of fan, media and industry acclaim. That excitement fuels the release of Ray’s new single “Spirits and Demons” with Meghan Patrick.
 
“The song’s about going through that part of life where you’re trying to figure things out,” said Ray of the song. “You went through a break-up, and you go to the bottle. You know, you wanna numb it. You wanna forget about what’s going on and just not feel anything, but when you lean into that bottle, it’s going to bring out the demons, it’s going to bring out some of those memories and you just end up reliving it.”
 
Joining Ray on the haunting duet is two-time Canadian Country Music Female Vocalist of the Year, Meghan Patrick. Ray felt the song needed a female voice so he reached out to his friend Patrick, saying “…she’s got a voice that can blister concrete – and a gift to reach right into a song and rip its heart out, put it in her throat and meet you line for line with some intense emotions.”
 
Of the new single, MusicRow shared, “This oomphy-sounding duet sez that booze doesn’t really cure a heartbreak. Both partners sing with gusto.”
 
In addition to his new single, Ray heads into the final stretch of summer and into fall with a full slate of touring. In addition, the Grand Ole Opry stalwart will make his 73rd appearance on the iconic stage on Wednesday, Sept. 13.

About Michael Ray
Forged on the small stages of Florida’s rural communities, Michael Ray has created an impressive foundation. With four No. 1 songs including RIAA Platinum-certified “Think a Little Less,” RIAA Platinum-certified “Whiskey And Rain,” RIAA Gold-certified “Kiss You in the Morning,” RIAA Gold-certified “One That Got Away” – plus “Get to You” and “Her World Or Mine” bringing his tally to four RIAA Gold-certified singles – over 2 billion global streams, over 650,000 album equivalents and over 150 million YouTube views, he is a true country star who’s performed at the Grand Ole Opry 72 times. Looking to expand his sound, Ray sought out CMA Album of the Year Award-winning producer Michael Knox. The pair have taken his brand of country to a new level for Dive Bars & Broken Hearts, Ray’s six-song EP available now via Warner Music Nashville, featuring current single and haunting duet “Spirits & Demons” with Meghan Patrick, a two-time Canadian Country Music Association Female Artist of the Year. Currently on the road headlining shows through the summer, he’s taking his music where it matters: to the people. For more information, visit MichaelRayMusic.com or follow him on Instagram and Twitter@MichaelRayMusic and Facebook.com/MusicMichaelRay.

Michael Ray, DIVE BARS & BROKEN HEARTS Arrives

THINGS MICHAEL RAY’S COUNTRY IS MADE OF
Dive Bars & Broken Hearts is Real Life in Six Tracks
Taking it from East Nashville’s The 5 Spot to 26,000 Fans on a Beach in One Week
“For Ray, It’s All About The Songs...” – The Tennessean

Sometimes you just follow your heart, even when you’re not sure where it’s taking you. For Michael Ray, who grew up going to – and playing at – the juke joints and hole in the walls of Central Florida with his father and grandfather, he didn’t realize he was going not just in a circle but coming full circle until he’d finished the tracking sessions for Dive Bars & Broken Hearts.
 
Six songs, recorded with multi-Platinum CMA Album of the Year producer Michael Knox, Dive Bars & Broken Hearts traces a boy coming into his own, chasing life and girls, getting his heart broken and learning to man up, carry on and evolve. Portraying coming of age for Ray – and so many young men (and women) just like him, it’s easy-going in places, moody and dark in others; it’s almost a love song to being willing to face life as it comes, know there’s solace in the jukebox and a better day if you’re willing to reach for it.
 
“Life is sometimes a lot simpler than we make it,” says the dark-headed vocalist. “And we have a lot more power to accept what doesn’t work and grow, or to create the best possible life than we realize... And that’s where some of the best country songs come from. For me, Dive Bars is about all that, without ever giving up or losing your sense of the right thing to do.”
 
Covered by a lot of media including American Songwriter, Apple Music, The Boot and PEOPLE, Tennessean critic Marcus K. Dowling summarized it best, writing, “For Ray, it’s all about the songs... Successfully navigating the honesty and precision required to age both gracefully and suddenly... his time inside of home and mind combined with the best of the genre’s decade long pop-aimed sounds and styles created appealing material.”
 
“I don’t know if it’s pop so much as ‘80s and ‘90s country,” he reflects, laughing, “which to me was pretty traditional. Keith Whitley, Merle Haggard, Hank Jr. – and yes, the Allman Brothers, ‘cause I am a Florida boy. Once Michael and I got started, I knew I wanted this music to sound like what country music had always been to me. Talking to the Tennessean, Marcus got it.”
 
Subtitled, “Talk of Willie, Waylon, wisdom and an ‘old-school country’ mentality highlight a conversation with the Florida-born multiple-time country chart-topper” pretty much says it. The profile cites Ray’s co-written “Don’t Give A Truck” for the way it “modernizes parents stoking their children’s wanderlust for frontier life by mentioning how his grandparents always warned his family members, ‘don't give a truck to a boy.’”
 
“There are pieces of me in all these songs,” Ray explains. “It’s how I grew up, what I learned, how I became a man... and how I was raised to always try every day to be a better man. But even more importantly, we didn’t shy away from having to man up and not just react, to recognize that you’re gonna make some mistakes along the way. More importantly, for me or anyone listening, there’s friendship and getting through even the tough stuff; you hear Meghan Patrick singing ‘Spirits & Demons’ with me, that’s everything life and country music is: temptation, melody, knowing better, getting tougher and being real.
 
“Setting this project up, we’ve been in some dive bars, the Grand Ole Opry, playing some really big festivals. All I know is everywhere we go, people are responding to these songs like they do ‘Whiskey and Rain’ and ‘Think a Little Less.’ When you can do that with new songs, that says something... But whether it’s just how good these songs feel, or the fact I’ve lived all of them and a lot of other people have been in the same situations, the live crowds feel like they know what I’m singing about!”
 
Recorded largely live with key road players from Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney and Jason Aldean, Dive Bars & Broken Hearts is here. Grab a cold one – and listen.
 
About Michael Ray
Forged on the small stages of Florida’s rural communities, Michael Ray has created an impressive foundation. Four No. 1 songs – RIAA Platinum-certified “Think a Little Less,” RIAA Platinum-certified “Whiskey And Rain,” RIAA Gold-certified “Kiss You in the Morning,” RIAA Gold-certified “One That Got Away” – with over 1 billion global streams, over 650,000 album equivalents and over 150 million YouTube views, he is a true country star who’s performed at the Grand Ole Opry more than 70 times. Looking to expand his sound, Ray sought out CMA Album of the Year Award-winning producer Michael Knox. The pair have taken his brand of country to a new level for Dive Bars & Broken Hearts, Ray’s six-song EP arriving June 23 via Warner Music Nashville. Currently on the road headlining shows through the summer, he’s taking his music where it matters: to the people. For more information, visit MichaelRayMusic.com or follow him on Instagram and Twitter @MichaelRayMusic and
Facebook.com/MusicMichaelRay.

Michael Ray's Spirits & Demons Include Meghan Patrick

MICHAEL RAY WRESTLES “SPIRITS & DEMONS” –
 Duet with 2x Canadian Country Music Female Meghan Patrick
Unleashes a Tempest in a Power Ballad

Photo Credit: Connor Morss

Country music has always been about harnessing the drama that is real life. That authenticity of having been there, witnessing those moments whether harrowing or hallelujah, imbues the best songs with a larger force. For Michael Ray, who’d come of age playing central Florida’s icehouses, dive bars and honky tonks, when he heard “Spirits & Demons,” he knew he had something that melted down the tangle of how heartache makes you drink, booze makes you hurt and forgetting is the hardest thing to do.
 
“Sometimes you hear a song, and it hits you: that’s just how it is,” marvels the smoldering maverick. “You play enough bars beyond the city limits, you see it all go down. Really good people who get in their feelings, the way a good time or a way out becomes a bottomless pit. The more I listened, the more I thought it needed something else...”
 
That something else was a woman’s voice, both as a counterbalance and the echo of what was gone. Not quite a voice of reason, but certainly a measured reflection of how far gone, how deep the pain. Working with Dive Bars & Broken Hearts’ producer Michael Knox, they talked about and listened to many female vocalists, seeking a voice that was just the right amount of passion, fire and raw ache to match the song’s emotional charge.
 
“We went through so many thoughts and names; they were all great, but nobody felt quite right,” Ray now laughs. “And it’s funny, because the answer was right under my nose. I’ve been friends with Meghan for years, in the way you’ve got your ‘Hey, I’m off the road. Wanna grab a beer?’ friends when you’re home for two or three days.
 
“So many of us are out there weeks at a time, chasing the dream. When you’re always gone, those friends who get you and get the commitment it takes, where you pick up right where you left off? They’re gold. Meghan’s not only a friend and a great hang, no matter who’s around, she’s got a voice that can blister concrete – and a gift to reach right into a song and rip its heart out, put it in her throat and meet you line for line with some intense emotions.
 
“Not only do I have the woman, who like so many things on this record, is exactly what I heard in my mind, but I’ve got someone who’s actually one of my friends. To be able to sing with her, that’s awesome; and to see how people responded at The 5 Spot, when we’d never sung it in front of people, that tells me everyone else feels what she brings to this song, too.”
 
With Dive Bars & Broken Hearts available for pre-order, fans have been enjoying three songs already. A decided return to Ray’s harder country roots, Macon-born producer Knox upped the stakes in emotional engagement and how hard these songs hit. Already landing four #1s on the Country Airplay chart, Dive Bars & Broken Hearts reinforces a specific kind of country that comes from classic Hank Jr., Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty and an era of men of contrasts, both strong and sensitive, aware and tough.
 
After his sneak Dive Bars & Broken Hearts debut at The 5 Spot and his 71st appearance at the Grand Ole Opry, Ray and Patrick recaptured their magic at the Warner/Yeehaw Brewing Co. show to close out his CMA Fest. Now he’s back on the road, heading to Wildwood, NJ’s Barefoot Country Music Festival June 15 as direct support to Jon Pardi, People’s Natural Park in Johnston, PA June 16 and rejoining Pardi for WBCT’s Birthday Bash in Grand Rapids, MI June 17.

Michael Ray's 5 Spot Surprise: DIVE BARS + BROKEN HEARTS Debuted for Full House

MICHAEL RAY DEBUTS DIVE BARS & BROKEN HEARTS –
 Intimate CMA Music Fest Kick-Off Event Shares Entire EP
6 Songs, 2 #1s and a Whole Lotta Fans at E. Nashville’s The 5 Spot

Photo Credit: Connor Vaughan Morrs

Over the last year, Michael Ray has been honing his craft, focusing his sound and going deeper and deeper into the kind of country music he was raised on in the heart of central Florida. Working with CMA Album of the Year-winning producer Michael Knox, the pair doubled down on a lean, working man’s country sound that pulled traces of Conway Twitty, Merle Haggard, Vern Gosdin, Hank Jr. and Alabama.
 
Thursday night, at East Nashville’s locals mostly The 5 Spot – where Lady Gaga famously kicked off her own Dive Bar Tour in support of her back-to-roots Joanne – the no frills songwriter treated his own fans to the first front-to-back performance of Dive Bars & Broken Hearts. The six-song EP explores the phases of life, the emotions that define how we live, the reality of where we find ourselves for good times and bad.
 
“I had been wanting a way to play this to the people who’ve been part of my life and my career from the beginning,” says the dark-headed vocalist. “CMA Fest brings country music fans together from not just across North America, but all over the world. So many of my fans come every year, this seemed like the perfect way to debut all this music as a whole collected work without playing favorites and picking a city.”
 
Hunger for his new music was high. Tickets for the intimate rock bar show were gone in less than 18 hours; the fans started lining up before daybreak. With a line down the block and around the corner, spirits were high among those lucky enough to get tickets – and on Knox’s bus were the band, who’d been dropping a few songs into their set, would finally get to put it all together.
 
“Songs on a record are one thing,” Ray said. “But songs in a bar with real people are something else. Not until you get into that room and hear the people do you know. And growing up in Eustis, with my Grandpa working all day, coming home, getting dressed up and heading out to where the music was, I learned the power of that pretty young.”
 
With the teaser tracks “Workin’ On It” and “Get Her Back” drawing the strongest response, as the crowd sang along at full voice, even the unfamiliar songs seemed to hit home. From the opening “Dive Bars & Broken Hearts,” Ray drew the crowd into a world of short-circuiting neon, young bucks acting up in their trucks, heartaches that drive you to drink and the idea that beyond perfection is the happiness of trying to be a better person every single day.
 
Dive Bars & Broken Hearts is available for pre-order now. Three of the six tracks will be instantly available; June 23, the rest of the project will be completed. For fans of how real life creates great songs and reasons to hang on and get through it, Ray understands. With four chart-toppers of his own, he performed “Think A Little Less” and “Whiskey & Rain” as the cherry on top of the new music sundae. With stops at the Grand Old Opry June 9 and the Warner/Yee-Haw Brewing Co. show June 10, it’s all about getting the music into the hands of the ones who deserve it the most: the fans.

Final Taste of Michael Ray's DIVE BARS & BROKEN HEARTS Hits Home

MICHAEL RAY DROPS ANOTHER TASTE –  
 Title Track of Dive Bars & Broken Hearts Hits Midnight 6/9
EP That’s Been a Lifetime in the Making Arrives 6/23

It’s been a long time coming for Michael Ray, who’s always let his music do the talking. With four #1s – including his Platinum certified “Whiskey and Rain” and Platinum “Think A Little Less” – before the pandemic shut the world down, the smoky-voiced purveyor of country songs had plenty of time to think about what he wanted his music to stand for.
 
Coming into CMA Fest, he decided to drop one last taste of his June 23rd Dive Bars & Broken Hearts for all the country music lovers pouring into Nashville to celebrate the best of what life siphoned into songs represents. “Dive Bars & Broken Hearts,” the third and final track released from the Michael Knox-produced EP, could be a master’s thesis on all the things that define country music.
 
“When you were raised on ‘80s and ‘90s country, and even older stuff, some things just are,” says Eustis, Florida’s favorite son. “The way the acoustic guitar comes up out of the mix, the smell of cigarette smoke, pawn shop diamond rings, Haggard’s ‘Misery & Gin’...All those things and a beat you can dance to is a big piece of playing for tips.
 
“Knowing that, when I was trying to decide what to call this project, I wanted something that stripped it back to the frame. Dive Bars & Broken Hearts is me getting to the sound I’ve always heard in my head, something that’s played on a jukebox or a bandstand in a bar somewhere just outside of town.”
 
With a wide-open arrangement, the shimmering, back’n’forth midtempo measures the way some things go together in spite of themselves. As Ray sings, “I’m just a Jones’ song and you’re my steel guitar/ We’ll dance on forever to that broken record...” before waking up alone, it’s a witness to the way bars bring people together again and again, even if they’re gonna fall apart.
 
“Dive Bars & Broken Hearts” comes with a video from Cypress Hill/Good Charlotte director Spidey Smith, who picks up where the life-embracing “Workin’ On It” left off. But instead of it being a party, Smith catches Ray at Nashville’s original losers lounge: Springwater. While there are the usual suspects – grizzled bar denizens, a girls’ group, a couple of a certain age – “Dive Bars” focuses on Ray in his native habitat. Playing the unadorned postage stamp of a stage, sitting on a bar stool, talking to the barkeep, there’s a spark, but the focus remains how he inhabits the song and delivers a knowing excavation of the emotions that are country’s bedrock.
 
“I really wanted to pull the reality and the music together,” Ray says of the clip. “I want people to understand where I come from, how I got there, why I love watching country music come to life from all those bandstands I was on growing up... And I wanted people to realize all those things I sing about aren’t just things on a checklist, but stuff I have grown up around.”
 
With CMA Fest fixing to happen, Ray’s going to do his part. Not only will he be doing a series of radio remotes, look for him making his 71st appearance at the Grand Ole Opry on June 9 and at the Warner/Yeehaw Brewing Co. show on June 10 at 6:15p.m. “I love all things that throwback to my heroes, Conway, Haggard, Jones. Being part of music fest is keeping their traditions alive, which is what Dive Bars & Broken Hearts is all about.”
 
About Michael Ray
Forged on the small stages of Florida’s rural communities, Michael Ray has created an impressive foundation. Four No. 1 songs – RIAA Platinum-certified “Think a Little Less,” RIAA Platinum-certified “Whiskey And Rain,” RIAA Gold-certified “Kiss You in the Morning,” RIAA Gold-certified “One That Got Away” -- with over 1 billion global streams, over 650,000 album equivalents, and over 150 million YouTube views, he is a true country star who’s performed at the Grand Ole Opry more than 65 times. Looking to expand his sound, Ray sought out CMA Album of the Year Award-winning producer Michael Knox. The pair have taken his brand of country to a new level for Dive Bars & Broken Hearts, Ray’s six song EP arriving June 23 via Warner Music Nashville. Currently on the road headlining shows through the summer, he’s taking his music where it matters: to the people. For more information, visit MichaelRayMusic.com or follow him on Instagram and Twitter @MichaelRayMusic and
Facebook.com/MusicMichaelRay.

Truth & Misdirection: Michael Ray Video Sets The Record Straight

When Michael Ray delivered “Get Her Back,” a track from his upcoming Dive Bars & Broken Hearts, he knew he had a song that leaned into the difference between how people feel and how they act. Recognizing that life sometimes stings, the dark-haired traditionalist from the heart of Central Florida also knows that most people don’t have to act on their impulses.
 
With a line that sidesteps acting out or trafficking in bitter gossip – “I wasn’t raised like that” – the terse power midtempo reflects on how things go wrong and what happens in the aftermath. It’s an exercise in self-awareness and a vocal performance that works a triple entendre from recognition to reflex to rejecting the obvious response. It’s also a masterwork in country music’s ability to misdirect the obvious not just once – clamoring to get the girl back turning into craving retribution – but twice – that desire to strike back cooling to the reality the last thing the singer wants is the person who’s done them wrong.
 
“I was raised on country songs that turn what you think on its head,” Ray explains. “You think you know what the song’s all about, then you hear the hook – and it’s something completely else. That’s what the greats like Haggard, Cash or Conway were all about. So, when I heard this, the way it flipped the script twice, I knew I had to cut ‘Get Her Back.’ The way it’s written is so tight, and then what Michael Knox did in the studio? The track is so sexy, he really intensifies that sense of what’s going on here...
 
“And it made me wonder, how could we do a video that has that same kind of ‘think it’s one thing, but it’s actually something else’ kind of appeal? It wouldn’t be easy.”

Enter Spidey Smith, the photographer and director who’s worked with a litany of today’s most barrier pushing stars across genres from Eminem to Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Good Charlotte to Cypress Hill to Duran Duran. With a dark, saturated palette and a set of detectives with flashlights, the director behind Ray’s backwater brimstone and business “Holy Water” conjures a storyline that appears one way but is distinctly another.
 
And at the center of it all, Ray delivers the truth of his song to a wizened, heard-it-all cop in a bare-bones debriefing room with the video running and an observation window that provides a second perspective. Balancing footage of what was and what’s unknown, the ponytailed interrogator leans into the potential suspect’s narrative, weighing his truth as he hands over black and white pictures from the scene of the crime.
 
Beyond the moments of the former couple’s life together, there are the unknown to both men scenes of the woman with her friends, with her dog, with her phone fraught and incessantly yelling into a voice mail of someone who’s not picking up. It is there that the crux of the video unfolds. As the woman stumbles, Ray is loading a truck with firewood unaware of all that is happening elsewhere – and when he returns the call, there is... no answer.
 
“Leave it to Spidey to find the edge and the mystery,” Ray says with a laugh. “He understands that place where you want to snap, but then you settle down and you just move on. To be able to find a way of showing how far you can stand from the fire – and still get burned, how you can do the right thing, which sometimes is nothing, and just keep moving? It’s a tough line to walk, but he did. And for everyone who’s ever been in a position of not wanting to look back, well, this clip’s for you.”
 
About Michael Ray
Forged on the small stages of Florida’s rural communities, Michael Ray has created an impressive foundation. Four No. 1 songs – RIAA Platinum-certified “Think a Little Less,” RIAA Platinum-certified “Whiskey And Rain,” RIAA Gold-certified “Kiss You in the Morning,” RIAA Gold-certified “One That Got Away” -- with over 1 billion global streams, over 650,000 album equivalents, and over 150 million YouTube views, he is a true country star who’s performed at the Grand Ole Opry more than 65 times. Looking to expand his sound, Ray sought out CMA Album of the Year Award-winning producer Michael Knox. The pair have taken his brand of country to a new level for Dive Bars & Broken Hearts, Ray’s six song EP arriving June 23 via Warner Music Nashville. Currently on the road headlining shows through the summer, he’s taking his music where it matters: to the people. For more information, visit MichaelRayMusic.com or follow him on Instagram and Twitter @MichaelRayMusic and
Facebook.com/MusicMichaelRay.

Michael Ray's Smoky Country: Discretion + Triple Entendres

MICHAEL RAY RETURNS
True Country Turns of Phrase & Life on “Get Her Back”
Working with Producer Michael Knox, He Refines His Kinda Country

Photo Credit: Spidey Smith

Michael Ray’s love of country music is well-documented. From 69 appearances at the Grand Ole Opry and a black belt in jukebox songs, the dark-haired vocalist from the heart of Florida understands that real country music often distills the hard stuff in ways that lend insight and community to life’s turns and twists.
 
After a break post-COVID, the likable songwriter knew he wanted to dig deeper and find higher ground with his music. But he also knew he didn’t want to lose that ‘80s/’90s edge that had captured his imagination as a kid growing up in the rural part of the Sunshine State, just beyond where Disneyworld turns to horse country, orange groves, swamps and cow pastures.
 
Enter Michael Knox, the Macon, Georgia-born publishing exec, who came to prominence producing Jason Aldean’s hard-charging albums. Beyond his award-winning work throughout Aldean’s career, he’s helped elevate full-on country-made-for-men multiple ACM Award winner Trace Adkins and CMA Duo of the Year Montgomery Gentry.
 
“I knew Michael could get to the sound in my head,” Ray says. “I would think about how country music sounded to me as a boy, how big it felt and real. It was big more than it was loud – and the songs were always things nobody ever talked about, ever wanted to be caught in the middle of, but, well, there they were coming out of the radio.”
 
Together the pair started on what would become Dive Bars & Broken Hearts, an updated old school EP due June 23. More robust and full-bodied, this music is the product of the kind of places where the carpet’s a bit soggy, the beer’s cold and the bar’s got some nicks in it. To that end, these songs serve as a lighter held up to the power of capturing how life is never smooth.
 
Teasing the collection is the triple entendre “Get Her Back,” a taut song as smoky as it is haunting. Beyond the instinct to fix what’s wrong and the human reflex of striking out, there’s a subtler layer of getting to the heart of being human. It’s not about the falling apart or who said what as much as the emotions of anyone trying to make sense of the fall-out.
 
“Nobody wants to talk about all the emotions you feel, shock, anger, wanting to know why, or even wanting something bad to happen... because then there’s the letting go,” Ray explains. “It’s so many different things, all falling together really fast. But in the end, why bother? Like the song says, ‘I wasn’t raised like that...’
 
“I think ‘Get Her Back’ speaks for a lot of people who don’t wanna talk about it, you know? Most of us have all these emotions, feel all kinds of things – and we’re expected to act like we’re good or everything’s fine. You hear people talk, but if you respected whatever it was you had, feel it, but don’t feed the fire. That’s what’s at the heart of this song. For anyone out there like me, know we see you. It’s cool. But know you did the right thing...”
 
As the beat slinks and guitars descend, a sweltering vocal works against the drums. Never denying any of the feelings, but refusing to act, “Get Her Back” watches the aftermath with half detachment, half numbness and arrives at the reality that after all of it, perhaps the last thing the narrator wants would be to get her back.

About Michael Ray
Forged on the small stages of Florida’s rural communities, Michael Ray has created  an impressive foundation. Four No. 1 songs – RIAA Platinum-certified “Think a Little Less,” RIAA Platinum-certified “Whiskey And Rain,” RIAA Gold-certified “Kiss You in the Morning,” RIAA Gold-certified “One That Got Away” -- with over 1 billion global streams, over 650,000 album equivalents, and over 150 million YouTube views, he is a true country star who’s performed at the Grand Ole Opry more than 65 times. Looking to expand his sound, Ray sought out CMA Album of the Year Award-winning producer Michael Knox. The pair have taken his brand of country to a new level for Dive Bars & Broken Hearts, Ray’s six song EP arriving June 23 via Warner Music Nashville. Currently on the road headlining shows through the summer, he’s taking his music where it matters: to the people. For more information, visit MichaelRayMusic.com or follow him on Instagram and Twitter @MichaelRayMusic and
Facebook.com/MusicMichaelRay.

Michael Ray Road Hones DIVE BARS & BROKEN HEARTS

Eustis, FL country singer Michael Ray grew up in the Sunshine State’s many dive bars, juke joints, honky tonks and the storied Sunshine Opry. For him, country music was the thing where people drinking after a long day, a tough break-up, a big win or just the need to get out of the house found their music mingled with neon, cigarette smoke, cold beer and enough heartache and high octane to siphon off whatever might be on your heart.
 
Coming from a family of working-class folks who know the meaning of “40 and OT,” there’s no faking how Ray gets his country on. After spending a few years as a teenager going to school, playing bars and splitting cable, he decided to chase a crazy dream to Nashville. The result was four No. 1s, including his most recent platinum, two-week chart-topper “Whiskey And Rain,” as well as a reputation as one of those artists who can hold down any stage, anywhere.
 
“There’s nowhere I’m more alive than playing to a roomful of people,” Ray explains. “To me, that’s where country music comes to life. I love being in the studio, putting a song into just the right instruments and frame. But if you want to really understand how a song works, go play it somewhere big enough to get loud, but small enough to feel the people.”
 
Having teamed with fellow force of Southern rock meets country Macon, Georgia’s Michael Knox, the pair have been bulking up Ray’s beer joint roots and streamlining his classic country song sense for what is becoming one of the most anticipated pieces of new music this spring Dives Bars & Broken Hearts. Culled from the way life puts you in places you never knew you were going to go, the six song EP creates a sense of how it feels to be a man, hold your own space and make your own way.
 
“When the songs are this strong, you know you’ve got something,” says the dark-headed musician with a laugh. “And when you were practically born playing this kind of music with your family, literally grew up in the bars and little roadside theaters, you can’t help yourself. It’s like a fast car, you wanna take it out and see how it handles. You know, playing new music in these kinds of places ain’t for the faint of heart; but when you’re not afraid, you bring songs this good, it’s amazing what happens.”
 
Under the radar, beyond the city limits, Ray has been playing several songs that are part of Dive Bars & Broken Hearts for the last few months. Currently dropping anywhere from three-to-five new songs into his set, he’s been amazed by the fan response to showcasing what has always been the sound in his mind.
 
Having enlisted the man behind 28 No. 1s, 50 million singles and 25 million albums sold, Ray drew on the best of what Knox brought out in 3x Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year Jason Aldean, Hank Williams, Jr., Montgomery Gentry and Thomas Rhett. Knox understands the potency of making music for people who work hard, who hit the bars and forget what’s bothering them with straight up country on the jukebox or the bandstand.
 
“When you came up punching it out in bars, there’s a different kind of energy. Michael let me record with live players, sing about things I knew – and trusted that who I am is who all the people I’ve been playing for since I was a kid are, too. We kept finding songs that felt right for who I am, and we kept singing live and pulling the heart out of the songs. It’s been an amazing process. When we’ve been playing, you can feel the difference with the new stuff... so we’re now using the road to really dial in what Dive Bars & Broken Hearts is gonna be.”

Photo Credit : Connor Morss

Michael Ray 2023 Tour Dates

April 13           Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial                   Athens, OH
                         Auditorium    
April 14           Del Lago Resort & Casino – The Vine                      Waterloo, NY
April 16           Moo & Brew Festival                                                 Charlotte, NC
April 20           Cherokee Hotel & Casino West Siloam Springs        West Siloam Springs, OK
April 21           Haute Spot                                                                  Cedar Park, TX
April 22           The JL Bar Ranch, Resort & Spa                               Sonora, TX
April 25           Propst Arena at the Von Braun Center                      Huntsville, AL
April 26           Temecula Stampede                                                   Temecula, CA
April 27           Stoney’s Rockin Country                                           Las Vegas, NV
April 28           Clovis Rodeo                                                             Clovis, CA
April 30           Rolling Hills Casino & Resort*                                  Corning, CA
May 6              Key West Songwriters Festival                                  Key West, FL
May 19            Grizzly Rose                                                               Denver, CO
May 20            365 Sports Complex                                                   Inman, KS
May 26            Waterside Music Series*                                            Solomons, MD
June 1              Moonshine Beach                                                       San Diego, CA
June 3              San Bernadino County Fairgrounds                           Victorville, CA
June 4              Morongo Casino Resort and Spa                                Cabazon, CA
June 15            Barefoot Country Music Fest                                     Wildwood, NJ
June 17            B-93.7 Birthday Bash                                                 Comstock Park, MI
June 23            WYRK Toyota Taste of Country                               Buffalo, NY
June 24            Catskill Point                                                              Greendale, NY
June 30            Lazy Gators                                                                Lake Ozark, MO
July 1              Baldwin Golf Course                                                  Baldwin City, KS
July 15            Willow Tree Vineyard – Summer Sounds                 Ham Lake, MN
Aug. 9             Greene County Fair                                                    Waynesburg, PA
Aug. 26           Country In The Burg                                                  Cedarburg, WI
 
*with Dustin Lynch
 
About Michael Ray
Forged on the small stages of Florida’s rural communities, Michael Ray has created  an impressive foundation. Four No. 1 songs – RIAA Platinum-certified “Think a Little Less,” RIAA Platinum-certified “Whiskey And Rain,” RIAA Gold-certified “Kiss You in the Morning,” RIAA Gold-certified “One That Got Away” -- with over 1 billion global streams, over 650,000 album equivalents, and over 150 million YouTube views, he is a true country star who’s performed at the Grand Ole Opry more than 65 times. Looking to expand his sound, Ray sought out CMA Album of the Year Award-winning producer Michael Knox. The pair have taken his brand of country to a new level for Dive Bars & Broken Hearts, Ray’s six song EP arriving June 23 via Warner Music Nashville. Currently on the road headlining shows through the summer, he’s taking his music where it matters: to the people. For more information, visit MichaelRayMusic.com or follow him on Instagram and Twitter @MichaelRayMusic and
Facebook.com/MusicMichaelRay.

DIVE BARS & BROKEN HEARTS: Michael Ray + Michael Knox Finishing Up Anticipated EP

“I took some time to really think about what I wanted,” says Michael Ray, who’s spent the last year balancing road shows and songwriting appointments. “When you strip it all back, think about what really matters to you, you cut away a whole lot of reasons that should never drive your music.
 
“I’m a kid from central Florida, raised singing at the Sunshine Opry, playing Froggers, turning it up when Jones, Hank Jr. and later Montgomery Gentry hit the dial. I like the ones who hit their country straight up and hard. I knew one guy who makes that kind of country, Michael Knox.”
 
Enter the Macon, Georgia-born groundbreaking producer, responsible for 28 #1s, 50 million singles and 25 million albums sold. Known for his work with 3x Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year Jason Aldean, as well as Hank Williams, Jr., Montgomery Gentry and Thomas Rhett, Knox understands the potency of making music for people who work hard, who hit the bars and forget what’s bothering them with straight up country on the jukebox or the bandstand.
 
“The more we talked, the more I knew he understood where I came from,” Ray says. “My kind of country doesn’t come from TikTok or a tv show, it’s all those straight up country singers who knew life doesn’t always turn out like you think, but you keep going. I’m from a family of EMTs, cable-splicers, first responders; they had to get up and go to work, no matter what was happening... and when they got home, they reached for the music, whether they were going out with my grandpa Amos to watch him play, or some band they were playin’ in.
 
“That’s a whole different way to do this, and Michael got it. Just like he knows how dive bars and broken hearts are a lot like George Jones songs and steel guitars – they go together.”
 
To mine that ‘80s/’90s edge that had captured Ray’s ear growing up in the rural part of the Sunshine State, Knox brought in the crème de la crème of live players. A large number of Aldean’s touring band, Tim McGraw’s lead guitarist Adam Shoenfeld and Kenny Chesney guitarist/utility player Danny Raider made up the core tracking band. The focus of the tracks was to capture the moment and the performance, looking towards the energy and chemistry on the takes.

Michael Ray in the studio finishing Dive Bars & Broken Hearts, set for release June 23 via Warner Music Nashville. | Photo Credit: Conner Morss

Ray sang with the tracking band on the several songs, allowing their playing to mold to his interpretations of the songs that will become Dive Bars & Broken Hearts, which draws on the phases of how people grow up, fall in love, fall apart, figure stuff out and move on. Evoking many of his favorite vocalists – from Earl Thomas Conley to Ronnie Milsap, Haggard, Jones and Alabama’s Randy Owen – there’s joy, gravitas, failure, regret, adult moments and yes, even some good times.
 
“Good ole boys grow up to be pretty good men,” Ray says. “Taking time to really think about what I wanted to say, writing some and listening to a whole lot of songs, I realized: people aren’t singing about what happens when you go from wild-eyed kid to anything other than a settled down husband and young father. So, this is country for the rest of us, for kids who only really listened to country music, who know their Gilley from their Conlee or their Conley... and we’re out there! I can’t wait to get some of this out there for people who love this kind of straight up country.”

About Michael Ray
Forged on the small stages of Florida’s rural communities, Michael Ray has createde an impressive foundation. Four No. 1 songs – RIAA Platinum-certified “Think a Little Less,” RIAA Platinum-certified “Whiskey And Rain,” RIAA Gold-certified “Kiss You in the Morning,” RIAA Gold-certified “One That Got Away” -- with over 1 billion global streams, over 650,000 album equivalents, and over 150 million YouTube views, he is a true country star who’s performed at the Grand Ole Opry more than 65 times. Looking to expand his sound, Ray sought out CMA Album of the Year Award-winning producer Michael Knox. The pair have taken his brand of country to a new level for Dive Bars & Broken Hearts, Ray’s six song EP arriving June 23 via Warner Music Nashville. Currently on the road headlining shows through the summer, he’s taking his music where it matters: to the people. For more information, visit MichaelRayMusic.com or follow him on Instagram and Twitter @MichaelRayMusic and Facebook.com/MusicMichaelRay.

Michael Ray Readies New Music as Rehearsals Get Underway for 2023 Tour

Florida Native Follows Up “Whiskey and Rain” Two-Week No. 1 with
New Music Expected this Spring
 
Ray Shares Peek Behind Next Album with Award-Winning Producer Michael Knox

As we dive headfirst into a new year and even look ahead to spring, Michael Ray sees a new season of music emerging while in the studio with producer Michael Knox. The Eustis, Florida native has spent the last two years reflecting on his journey since moving to Music City and what it means to find fulfillment in all aspects of life.
 
“My romance with the business of music was starting to take its toll on me,” says the singer who first moved to Nashville in 2013. “Things really come into focus when you take the time to live a little life. I feel like the music that we’ve been writing has real intention and is focused on the next chapter. I’ve discovered lately, especially in spending time with my family, that there’s a lot of life you miss when you’ve got your head down, doubling down on work. I think a lot of folks feel that way as all our lives changed, and so this idea of being present has moved beyond an idea…it’s how I’m living life these days.”
 
Ray used to think of “being busy” as being in the studio or on the road constantly, but now he’s embraced the time between tour dates. “Being busy living life is the goal. I find I give more in my live shows when I’m the same human off stage and on, versus only giving folks one side of me for 90 or 120 minutes when I’ve got a microphone in my hand.”

Kicking off February 18 in Los Fresnos, Texas, with additional shows to be announced, Ray’s 2023 tour dates are taking him back to some cities that first embraced him as he retraces his steps from the days in a 15-passenger van, zigzagging across the Southeast. “I want people to come out to see us and know that when they do, we’re gonna take great care of that time as it means more to us all now.” 
 
“The main things that have kept me going this year is my family, friends, and these incredible fans that have become friends,” says Ray. “I think they’ll see a lot of life lived in these songs, and hopefully they’ll see themselves in it, too.”
 
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit MichaelRayMusic.com or follow him on Instagram and Twitter@MichaelRayMusic and Facebook.com/MusicMichaelRay for more peeks into the studio and behind the tour.
 

Michael Ray 2023 Tour Dates
 
Feb. 18            Los Fresnos Rodeo                                                     Los Fresnos, TX
March 3           Dakota Event Center                                                  Aberdeen, SD
March 4           North Dakota Winter Show Concert                          Valley City, ND
March 11         Carnaval ME                                                               Portland, ME
March 17         The Foundry                                                               Greenville, SC
March 24         Shooting Star Casino Hotel & Event Center              Mahnomen, MN
April 22           The JL Bar Ranch, Resort & Spa                               Sonora, TX
April 25           Von Braun Center Arena                                             Huntsville, AL
April 26           Temecula Stampede                                                    Temecula, CA
April 27           Stoney’s Rockin Country                                            Las Vegas, NV
April 28           Clovis Rodeo                                                              Clovis, CA
May 19            Grizzly Rose                                                               Denver, CO
May 20            365 Sports Complex                                                   Inman, KS
June 3              San Bernadino County Fairgrounds                           Victorville, CA
June 15            Barefoot Country Music Fest                                     Wildwood, NJ
Aug. 26           Country In The Burg                                                  Cedarburg, WI
 
About Michael Ray
For Michael Ray, music is his grandfather singing and sweating on a rural Florida stage. It’s the childhood refuge he found during the pain of his parent's divorce. It’s family and stories, history and hope. Ray says music saved him, but it did even more: Music made him. Ray has built an impressive foundation: four No. 1 songs – RIAA Platinum-certified “Think a Little Less,” RIAA Platinum-certified “Whiskey And Rain,” RIAA Gold-certified “Kiss You in the Morning,” RIAA Gold-certified “One That Got Away” – plus “Get to You” and “Her World or Mine,” brings his tally to four Gold-certified singles. Ray has garnered over 1 billion global streams, over 650,000 album equivalents, over 150 million YouTube views, and has performed at the Grand Ole Opry over 65 times. Two hit albums into that all-too-rare blend of critically acclaimed and commercially successful career, Ray released Higher Education. Proof that heartbroken wallowing can feel good if it swings, “Whiskey And Rain” marked his first multi-week No. 1, cementing him as the ideal bridge between vintage country cool and modern country’s best sounds. Ray recently released The Bootleggers Sessions, which features classic country covers, including Tracy Lawrence’s “Time Marches On” and George Strait’s “The Chair,” following The Warehouse Sessions of live performances of songs from Higher Education. Ray is gearing up to release more new music this spring and is currently in the studio with award-winning producer Michael Knox. For more information, visit MichaelRayMusic.com or follow him on Instagram and Twitter @MichaelRayMusic and Facebook.com/MusicMichaelRay.

Michael Ray Announces "The Warehouse Sessions" Live EP

On the heels of his fourth No. 1 single “Whiskey And Rain” reaching RIAA Platinum-certified status, hitmaker Michael Ray announces The Warehouse Sessions live EP via Warner Music Nashville, featuring four tracks from Higher Education and his second No. 1 single, RIAA Platinum-certified “Think A Little Less,” set for release tomorrow, Aug. 5.

“After two years of connecting solely via our screens and dreaming of being back on the road again, there's nothing like hearing fans sing these songs back to us live,” shares the Florida-native. “We’re keeping that energy going with The Warehouse Sessions.”

Along with tomorrow’s release, Ray is set to perform current chart-climbing single “Holy Water” and other fan favorites on the Fox & Friends All-American Summer Concert Series tomorrow, Aug. 5 at 8:50am ET.

“Holy Water,” the second single from Higher Education written by Ashley Gorley, Hunter Phelps, Ben Johnson and Michael Hardy, offers a prime example that Ray “undoubtedly knows his way around a country song,” showcasing his ability to sing mouthfuls of detail with the smooth, unhurried delivery of a veteran storyteller, while the chorus is “a high-powered anthemic section…encased in a singalong, descending melody,” shares Billboard.

Lead single “Whiskey And Rain,” written by Josh Thompson and Jesse Frasure, marked Ray’s first multi-week chart topper and quickly garnered attention from critics, with Rolling Stone dubbing the track as “equal parts Ronnie Milsap and Gary Allan” while Billboard called it “a throwback to brooding songs from the ‘80s and ‘90s” with “solid production by Ross Copperman highlighting Ray’s vulnerable delivery.”

On Higher Education, “Ray found a refuge in the mere act of making music that tells his imperfect story, a story that so many people in this world can certainly relate to during these crazy days,” PEOPLE observed, while American Songwriter emphasized “Higher Education is shaped by the muse of the man Ray hopes to be, and the lessons he’s learned along the way… inviting his listeners into his world, pulling back the curtain on who he is off the stage.”

Ray will join Lee Brice on the Label Me Proud Tour later this month, along with headlining and festival dates through the fall. For dates, tickets and additional information go to MichaelRayMusic.com.

Label Me Proud Tour Dates with Lee Brice

Aug. 11 Pensacola Bay Center Pensacola, Fla.
Aug. 12 St. Augustine Amphitheatre St. Augustine, Fla.
Aug. 13 Mizner Park Amphitheater Boca Raton, Fla.
Aug. 25 Mountain Health Arena Huntington, W.V.
Aug. 26 Freedom Hall Civic Center Johnson City, Tenn.
Aug. 27 Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Chattanooga, Tenn.
Sept. 8 Ting Pavilion Charlottesville, Va.
Sept. 9 Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre Youngstown, Ohio
Sept. 10 Red Hat Amphitheater Raleigh, N.C.
Sept. 15 Show Me Center Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Sept. 16 PNC Pavilion Cincinnati, Ohio
Sept. 17 TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park Indianapolis, Ind.
Sept. 22 First National Bank Arena Jonesboro, Ark.
Sept. 23 Brookshire Grocery Arena Bossier City, La.
Sept. 24 Smart Financial Center Sugar Land, Texas

Michael Ray Upcoming Tour Dates

Aug. 20 Rockin’ Up North Fest 2022 East Grand Forks, Minn.
Sept. 7 The Bullpen Summer Concert Series Washington, D.C.
Oct. 16 Goldensky Festival 2022 Sacramento, Calif.
Nov. 4 The Ranch Concert Hall & Saloon Fort Myers, Fla.
Nov. 5 Bartow Ford Bartow, Fla.

About Michael Ray
For Michael Ray, music is his grandfather singing and sweating on a rural Florida stage. It’s the childhood refuge he found during the pain of his parent's divorce. It’s family and stories, history and hope. Ray says music saved him, but it did even more: Music made him. In five short years, Ray has built an impressive foundation: four No. 1 songs – RIAA Platinum-certified “Think a Little Less,” RIAA Platinum-certified “Whiskey And Rain,” RIAA Gold-certified “Kiss You in the Morning,” RIAA Gold-certified “One That Got Away” – plus “Get to You” and “Her World or Mine,” brings his tally to four Gold-certified singles. Ray has garnered over 1 billion global streams, over 650,000 album equivalents, over 100 million YouTube views, and has performed at the Grand Ole Opry 65 times. Now, two hit albums into that all-too-rare blend of critically acclaimed and commercially successful career, Ray has released Higher Education, a seven-song collection produced by GRAMMY-nominated producer Ross Copperman. Proof that heartbroken wallowing can feel good if it swings, “Whiskey And Rain” marked his first multi-week No. 1, cementing Ray as the ideal bridge between vintage country cool and modern country’s best sounds. His latest single “Holy Water” is climbing the charts at Country radio now, and The Warehouse Sessions live EP is set for release Aug. 5. For more information, visit MichaelRayMusic.com or follow him on Instagram and Twitter@MichaelRayMusic and Facebook.com/MusicMichaelRay.

Michael Ray Debuts Official Music Video for "Holy Water" Today

Music Video for Hitmaker’s Latest Single Premieres
TODAY at 4pm CT via YouTube with a Special Livestream at 3:45pm CT

Ray Partners with MusicFX for No. 1 Country Music Airplay Commemorative NFT for “Whiskey And Rain” Available Tuesday, March 22

Following the song’s debut at Country radio, hitmaker Michael Ray premieres the official music video for “Holy Water” today, March 16, at 4pm CT via YouTube. Ray will join for a special livestream ahead of the premiere at 3:45pm CT.

Directed by Spidey Smith and filmed near the Florida-native’s hometown of Eustis, “Holy Water” follows the engrossing story of a Florida preacher and his lucrative midnight side hustle. Written by Ashley Gorley, Hunter Phelps, Ben Johnson and Michael Hardy, “Holy Water” offers a prime example of Ray’s ability to sing mouthfuls of detail with the smooth, unhurried delivery of a veteran storyteller:

Somewhere inside them back Florida pines there’s a town with a Choctaw name
There’s a little white church in a real tight curve on the edge of a field full of grain
Yeah, the preacher was a stand-up man shaking hands every Sunday morning at the door
He loved his congregation, but he ran an operation selling more than the word of the Lord

“Holy Water” follows Ray’s fourth No. 1 single “Whiskey And Rain,” which marked his first multi-week chart topper, and to celebrate, Ray has partnered with MusicFX.io (“MusicFX”) for his very first NFT. The Michael Ray No. 1 Country Music Airplay Commemorative NFT will be strictly limited to just 100 tokens for fans to enjoy this achievement alongside him. The NFT will drop exclusively on MusicFX on March 22, 2022.

One lucky fan will receive a Golden Ticket NFT along with their No. 1 Country Music Airplay Commemorative NFT, earning them two tickets with VIP passes to meet Ray at a show of the fan’s choosing, while another five fans will receive a Bronze Ticket bonus that will reward them with an exclusive MusicFX Michael Ray merch pack.

For more information on the Michael Ray No. 1 Country Music Airplay Commemorative NFT, visit MusicFx.io.

About Michael Ray
For Michael Ray, music is his grandfather singing and sweating on a rural Florida stage. It’s the childhood refuge he found during the pain of his parent's divorce. It’s family and stories, history and hope. Ray says music saved him, but it did even more: Music made him. In five short years, Ray has built an impressive foundation: four No. 1 songs – RIAA Platinum-certified “Think a Little Less,” RIAA Gold-certified “Kiss You in the Morning,” RIAA Gold-certified “One That Got Away” and RIAA Gold-certified “Whiskey And Rain” – plus “Get to You” and “Her World or Mine,” brings his tally to five Gold-certified singles. Ray has garnered over 1 billion global streams, over 650,000 album equivalents, over 100 million YouTube views, and has performed at the Grand Ole Opry over 60 times. Now, two hit albums into that all-too-rare blend of critically acclaimed and commercially successful career, Ray has released Higher Education, a seven-song collection produced by GRAMMY-nominated producer Ross Copperman. Proof that heartbroken wallowing can feel good if it swings, “Whiskey And Rain” marked his first multi-week No. 1, cementing Ray as the ideal bridge between vintage country cool and modern country’s best sounds. His latest single “Holy Water” is impacting Country radio now. Learn more about Ray at MichaelRayMusic.com or follow him on Instagram and Twitter @MichaelRayMusic and Facebook.com/MusicMichaelRay.

Michael Ray Joins MusicFX for Exclusive "Whiskey And Rain" No. 1 NFT

Photo Credit: Sean Hagwell

Platinum-selling country music hitmaker Michael Ray announces that he has signed with MusicFX.io (“MusicFX” or the “Company”), a leading digital community connecting artists to their fan bases through NFTs, to produce an exclusive NFT commemorating his first multi-week No. 1 with “Whiskey And Rain.”

The Michael Ray No. 1 Country Music Airplay Commemorative NFT will be strictly limited to just 100 tokens for fans to enjoy this achievement alongside Michael. The NFT will drop exclusively on MusicFX on March 22, 2022.

“I’m so thankful for my grandfather inspiring me to do what I love most in life because without that I wouldn’t be doing what I do,” shares Ray. “But, in the last five years, the successes I’ve had, would never have been possible without the fans. I want to thank them, and hope they enjoy the content I put out through MusicFX, as much as I’ve enjoyed making it.”

“We’re absolutely thrilled Michael has chosen MusicFX,” adds Billie-Jo Aasen, co-head of MusicFX. “He’s worked really hard to help us achieve something special with our second NFT. We can’t wait to get working on his next one and continue building the outstanding relationship he has with his fans.”

With four No. 1 hits, including RIAA Platinum-certified “Think a Little Less,” RIAA Gold-certified “Kiss You in the Morning,” RIAA Gold-certified “One That Got Away” and RIAA Gold-certified “Whiskey And Rain,” Florida-native Michael Ray has garnered over 1 billion global streams, over 650,000 album equivalents and over 100 million YouTube views.

The Michael Ray No. 1 Country Music Airplay Commemorative NFT is the second NFT line to be offered exclusively through MusicFX, following the hugely successful Gold Chain Cowboy Fan Club: Black Card NFT produced in partnership with Parker McCollum.

MusicFX is a partnership between Crown & Ace and award-winning blockchain pioneers CurrencyWorks, who have built the NFT platform that powers MusicFX.

To find out more about the Michael Ray No. 1 Country Music Airplay Commemorative NFT, or to sign-up to MusicFX, please click here.

About Michael Ray
For Michael Ray, music is his grandfather singing and sweating on a rural Florida stage. It’s the childhood refuge he found during the pain of his parent's divorce. It’s family and stories, history and hope. Ray says music saved him, but it did even more: Music made him. In five short years, Ray has built an impressive foundation: four No. 1 songs – RIAA Platinum-certified “Think a Little Less,” RIAA Gold-certified “Kiss You in the Morning,” RIAA Gold-certified “One That Got Away” and RIAA Gold-certified “Whiskey And Rain” – plus “Get to You” and “Her World or Mine,” brings his tally to five Gold-certified singles. Ray has garnered over 1 billion global streams, over 650,000 album equivalents, over 100 million YouTube views, and has performed at the Grand Ole Opry over 60 times. Now, two hit albums into that all-too-rare blend of critically acclaimed and commercially successful career, Ray has released Higher Education, a seven-song collection produced by GRAMMY-nominated producer Ross Copperman. Proof that heartbroken wallowing can feel good if it swings, “Whiskey And Rain” marked his first multi-week No. 1, cementing Ray as the ideal bridge between vintage country cool and modern country’s best sounds. Learn more about Ray at MichaelRayMusic.com or follow him on Instagram and Twitter @MichaelRayMusic and Facebook.com/MusicMichaelRay.

About MusicFX
MusicFX sets the stage for new innovations in artist and fan engagement. Using the blockchain, artists are empowered to leverage their brand while bringing fans closer than ever before to the music and the people behind the mic.

MusicFX NFTs provide the backstage pass, the ultimate connection between fan and artist, with exclusive VIP events and experiences, priority tickets, merchandise, and more.

MusicFX Is made possible thanks to the partnership between global blockchain innovators CurrencyWorks and the music industry expertise of Crown & Ace.

Working with some of the biggest names in world entertainment, MusicFX sets the stage for new thinking in artist and fan engagement. Harnessing the versatility of the blockchain, artists are empowered to leverage their brand while bringing fans closer than ever before to the music and the people behind the mic.

MusicFX NFTs provide the ultimate backstage pass, the premier connection between fan and artist, with exclusive VIP events and experiences, priority tickets, merchandise, and so much more, all delivered through the digital magic of a NFT.

For more, visit www.musicfx.io

About Crown & Ace
Crown & Ace is a family of entertainment entrepreneurs who have come together to restore values, relationships, trust, and stability within the multifaceted entertainment world.

The company is a joint venture between The Festival Company and Periscope Music Group which was founded in 2021 by Billie-Jo Aasen and Jake Crownover, two highly respected and incredibly experienced veterans of the entertainment industry who have worked with some of the biggest global talents to take to the stage.

Crown & Ace’s core business covers a multitude of services ranging from talent buying and venue booking to festival and marquee event creation/execution, to NFTs, to creating unique bonds and partnerships between brands and key personalities. They welcome their clients and their partners into their family and as a family, they all rise together and stay together.

For more information on Crown & Ace please visit www.crownandace.com

About CurrencyWorks
CurrencyWorks Inc. (CSE: CWRK and OTCQB: CWRK) is an award-winning, publicly-traded company that builds and operates a full-service blockchain platform.

For more information on CurrencyWorks, please visit us at www.currencyworks.io. For additional investor info visit www.currencyworks.io or www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov searching CWRK.

Michael Ray Readies "Holy Water" for Country Radio

Michael Ray grew up in a family compound off a dirt road in the small town of Eustis, Florida, just a few miles from a tiny old country church where Sunday service would be held, where communion often carried over to tall tales of his grandparents’ days running moonshine up the East Coast.

“Back in the day, my family was part of building this little church off a dirt road. It’s the church my grandfather grew up in, my dad grew up in and then pastored, we grew up in it, and now, my sisters are working to rejuvenate it,” shares Ray. “‘Holy Water’ takes me right back to being a boy in that church, sitting in a wooden pew listening to some of the greatest truths I hold onto to this day.”

Featuring swampy percussion and finger picking, the hitmaker readies “Holy Water” for Country radio, going for adds Monday, March 7, following his fourth No. 1 and first multi-week chart topper “Whiskey And Rain,” from his seven-song collection Higher Education.

Written by Ashley Gorley, Hunter Phelps, Ben Johnson and Michael Hardy, “Holy Water” is an engrossing story song that follows a Florida preacher and his lucrative midnight side hustle, while the first lines alone offer a prime example of Ray’s ability to sing mouthfuls of detail with the smooth, unhurried delivery of a veteran storyteller:

Somewhere inside them back Florida pines there’s a town with a Choctaw name
There’s a little white church in a real tight curve on the edge of a field full of grain
Yeah, the preacher was a stand-up man shaking hands every Sunday morning at the door
He loved his congregation, but he ran an operation selling more than the word of the Lord

“I love it when you can hear a song, close your eyes and see exactly what they’re saying,” Ray explains. “I am just naturally drawn to those songs.”

On Higher Education, “Ray found a refuge in the mere act of making music that tells his imperfect story, a story that so many people in this world can certainly relate to during these crazy days,” PEOPLE observes, while American Songwriter emphasizes “Higher Education is shaped by the muse of the man Ray hopes to be, and the lessons he’s learned along the way… inviting his listeners into his world, pulling back the curtain on who he is off the stage.”

The Florida-native has garnered over 1 billion global streams, over 650,000 album equivalents and over 100 million YouTube views. Along with his four No. 1 singles, Ray has a total of six RIAA certifications: Platinum-certified “Think A Little Less,” and Gold-certified songs “Whiskey And Rain,” “Her World or Mine,” “One That Got Away,” “Get To You” and “Kiss You in the Morning.”

About Michael Ray
For Michael Ray, music is his grandfather singing and sweating on a rural Florida stage. It’s the childhood refuge he found during the pain of his parents’ divorce. It’s family and stories, history and hope. Ray says music saved him, but it did even more: Music made him. In five short years, Ray has built an impressive foundation: four No. 1 songs – RIAA Platinum-certified “Think a Little Less,” RIAA Gold-certified “Kiss You in the Morning,” RIAA Gold-certified “One That Got Away” and RIAA Gold-certified “Whiskey And Rain” – plus “Get to You” and “Her World or Mine,” brings his tally to five Gold-certified singles. Ray has garnered over 1 billion global streams, over 650,000 album equivalents, over 100 million YouTube views and has performed at the Grand Ole Opry over 60 times. Now, two hit albums into that all-too-rare blend of critically acclaimed and commercially successful career, Ray has released Higher Education, a seven-song collection produced by GRAMMY-nominated producer Ross Copperman. Proof that heartbroken wallowing can feel good if it swings, “Whiskey And Rain” marked his first multi-week No. 1, cementing Ray as the ideal bridge between vintage country cool and modern country’s best sounds. His next single “Holy Water” goes for adds at Country radio on March 7. Learn more about Ray at MichaelRayMusic.com or follow him on Instagram and Twitter @MichaelRayMusic and Facebook.com/MusicMichaelRay.

Michael Ray Earns First Multi-Week No. 1 with "Whiskey And Rain"

Lead Single from Higher Education Hits No. 1
Two Consecutive Weeks on Country Aircheck Chart
While Arriving at the Top of the Billboard Country Airplay Chart

“Whiskey And Rain” Marks Hitmaker’s Fourth No. 1 Single

On the heels of earning his fourth No. 1 single, hitmaker Michael Ray reaches another milestone with his first multi-week chart topper “Whiskey And Rain,” the lead single from his seven-song collection Higher Education. Last week, the track peaked at No. 1 on the Country Aircheck chart, remaining at the top this week while arriving at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart.

“This is incredible,” shares Ray. “I knew this song was something special, but I never dreamed it would be this impactful. I’m so thankful to my team who kept pushing to get this song to No. 1, now for two weeks in a row, and I’m grateful for the fans who found ‘Whiskey And Rain’ just as special as I do. Your support means everything, and I can’t wait to keep bringing you compelling Country music.”

Upon the news of the track reaching No. 1 last week, Ray shared, “Back when we were recording this song, I would think about all the things I always loved about Gary Allan and the way his music spoke to me and my life growing up in Eustis. I hope this song has been there for you on lonely nights when you’ve needed it, just like Gary always has been for me.

“One of my favorites of his goes, ‘Life ain’t always beautiful, but it’s a beautiful ride,’” he continued. “Thank y’all for this beautiful ride! Thank y’all for loving this song!”

A shining example of camaraderie in the format, Allan took to social media to congratulate the Florida-native, sharing “Shout out to my friend Michael Ray! You just got another No. 1. They don’t come easy, friend. I’m so stoked for you, and I hope you get 100 more.”

Written by Josh Thompson and Jesse Frasure, “Whiskey And Rain” quickly garnered attention from critics, with Rolling Stone dubbing the track as “equal parts Ronnie Milsap and Gary Allan” while Billboard called it “a throwback to brooding songs from the ‘80s and ‘90s” with “solid production by Ross Copperman highlighting Ray’s vulnerable delivery.”

The track also caught the ear of critic Grady Smith, who shared “Whiskey And Rain” as his No. 2 pick in “The 10 Best Hit Country Songs of 2021,” noting that the “fresh, radio-friendly, modern but still a little bit traditional country production” made him “take a second look at Ray and think maybe there’s more to what this guy wants to say musically.”

On Higher Education, “Ray found a refuge in the mere act of making music that tells his imperfect story, a story that so many people in this world can certainly relate to during these crazy days,” PEOPLE observes, while American Songwriter emphasizes “Higher Education is shaped by the muse of the man Ray hopes to be, and the lessons he’s learned along the way… inviting his listeners into his world, pulling back the curtain on who he is off the stage.”

Ray celebrates the song’s success with the release of “Whiskey And Rain (Acoustic).” Listen to the song HERE.

The Florida-native has garnered over 1 billion global streams, over 650,000 album equivalents and over 100 million YouTube views. Along with his four No. 1 singles, Ray has a total of five RIAA certifications: Platinum-certified “Think A Little Less,” and Gold-certified songs “Her World or Mine,” “One That Got Away,” “Get To You” and “Kiss You in the Morning.”

About Michael Ray
For Michael Ray, music is his grandfather singing and sweating on a rural Florida stage. It’s the childhood refuge he found during the pain of his parents’ divorce. It’s family and stories, history and hope. Ray says music saved him, but it did even more: Music made him. In five short years, Ray has built an impressive foundation: four No. 1 songs – RIAA Platinum-certified “Think a Little Less,” RIAA Gold-certified “Kiss You in the Morning,” RIAA Gold-certified “One That Got Away” and “Whiskey And Rain” – plus “Get to You” and “Her World or Mine,” brings his tally to four Gold-certified singles. The poignant “Her World or Mine” from his sophomore album Amos also produced a video that has captured more than 27 million YouTube views since its debut. Now, two hit albums into that all-too-rare blend of critically acclaimed and commercially successful career, Ray has released Higher Education, a seven-song collection produced by GRAMMY-nominated producer Ross Copperman. Proof that heartbroken wallowing can feel good if it swings, “Whiskey And Rain” has garnered over 104 million streams, cementing Ray as the ideal bridge between vintage country cool and modern country’s best sounds. Learn more about Ray at MichaelRayMusic.com or follow him on Instagram and Twitter @MichaelRayMusic and Facebook.com/MusicMichaelRay.

Michael Ray Earns Fourth No. 1 Single with "Whiskey And Rain"

Lead Single from Higher Education Marks Hitmaker’s Fourth No. 1
as Song Surpasses 100 Million On-Demand Streams

At age 8, Michael Ray’s grandfather taught him his first guitar chords. Listening nonstop to Merle Haggard and George Jones as a kid, he fell in love with intricate stories sung by legends. Determined to make his own distinct contributions to the genre, Ray made a mission of sharing his deep appreciation for traditional Country music while pushing the format forward, leading to his fourth No. 1 single “Whiskey And Rain.”

“I owe this one to the fans who love Country music just as much as I do,” shares the Florida-native. “I knew when I first heard this song, it embodied everything I love about Country music, and I hoped people would find it as relatable and personal as I do.

“The support for ‘Whiskey And Rain’ has been so overwhelming and exciting,” Ray continues, “I can’t think of a better way to gear up for 2022 than this: celebrating with a song that’s so special to me.”

Written by Josh Thompson and Jesse Frasure and released as the lead single from his seven-song collection Higher Education, “Whiskey And Rain” quickly garnered attention from critics, with Rolling Stone dubbing the track as “equal parts Ronnie Milsap and Gary Allan” featuring “a mix of the piano man’s Eighties swing and the Nineties lonesomeness of Allan’s Smoke Rings in the Dark,” while Billboard called it “a throwback to brooding songs from the ‘80s and ‘90s” with “solid production by Ross Copperman highlighting Ray’s vulnerable delivery.”

The track also caught the ear of critic Grady Smith, who shared “Whiskey And Rain” as his No. 2 pick in “The 10 Best Hit Country Songs of 2021,” noting that the “fresh, radio-friendly, modern but still a little bit traditional country production” made him “take a second look at Ray and think maybe there’s more to what this guy wants to say musically.”

On Higher Education, “Ray found a refuge in the mere act of making music that tells his imperfect story, a story that so many people in this world can certainly relate to during these crazy days,” PEOPLE observes, while American Songwriter emphasizes “Higher Education is shaped by the muse of the man Ray hopes to be, and the lessons he’s learned along the way…inviting his listeners into his world, pulling back the curtain on who he is off the stage.”

Currently in the Top 10 on the Country On-Demand Streaming chart, Ray celebrates the song’s success with the release of “Whiskey And Rain (Acoustic).” Listen to the song HERE.

Ray has garnered over 1 billion global streams, over 650,000 album equivalents and over 100 million YouTube views. Along with his four No. 1 singles, Ray has a total of five RIAA certifications: Platinum-certified “Think A Little Less,” and Gold-certified songs “Her World or Mine,” “One That Got Away,” “Get To You” and “Kiss You in the Morning.”

About Michael Ray
For Michael Ray, music is his grandfather singing and sweating on a rural Florida stage. It’s the childhood refuge he found during the pain of his parents’ divorce. It’s family and stories, history and hope. Ray says music saved him, but it did even more: Music made him. In five short years, Ray has built an impressive foundation: four No. 1 songs – RIAA Platinum-certified “Think a Little Less,” RIAA Gold-certified “Kiss You in the Morning,” RIAA Gold-certified “One That Got Away” and “Whiskey And Rain” – plus “Get to You” and “Her World or Mine,” brings his tally to four Gold-certified singles. The poignant “Her World or Mine” from his sophomore album Amos also produced a video that has captured more than 27 million YouTube views since its debut. Now, two hit albums into that all-too-rare blend of critically acclaimed and commercially successful career, Ray has released Higher Education, a seven-song collection produced by GRAMMY-nominated producer Ross Copperman. Proof that heartbroken wallowing can feel good if it swings, “Whiskey And Rain” has garnered over 104 million streams, cementing Ray as the ideal bridge between vintage country cool and modern country’s best sounds. Learn more about Ray at MichaelRayMusic.com or follow him on Instagram and Twitter @MichaelRayMusic and Facebook.com/MusicMichaelRay.