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'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.