The country duo reveals why their new song “Say So” felt different — and why they weren’t sure fans would be ready for it. Continue reading…

Zach Bryan is using his platform to give back to teachers in his home state. The country music superstar from Oologah, Oklahoma is currently touring the country on his With Heaven On Tour. After setting out on the world tour in March, he’s now approaching a pair of “hometown” shows in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Thousands will pour in to see the pride of Oklahoma perform at H.A. Chapman Stadium for back-to-back nights… and a good portion of the audience will be made up of teachers from the area. Bryan teamed up with the SONIC Foundation (yes, the drive in place that specializes in burgers and drinks) to surprise teachers with free tickets. More than 5,000 tickets were handed out to educators in Tulsa and Oklahoma City (among other surrounding communities) through the Limeades for Learning initiative. For the uninitiated, that’s SONIC’s special program that sets out to support public schools. Since 2009, they’ve donated more than $32 million to school and teachers. And now, they can boast that they’ve also handed out over 5,000 Zach Bryan tickets. Obviously, Zach Bryan has a way of getting himself into headlines for not-so-flattering reasons. But at the end of the day, he always does what he can to give back to charitable causes. The “Pink Skies” singer has famously given back to military personal on multiple occasions, and often likes to donate and/or put on shows for NFL star Christian McCaffrey’s 22 and Troops foundation. The two shows that Bryan and the SONIC Foundation handed out tickets to were actually dates that were added on to the With Heaven On Tour about a week or so after the tour was announced: View this post on Instagram All in all, a class act from the country music superstar to take care of the teachers in the community that means so much to him. They’ll get to go to the shows on April 3 and 4… and it wouldn’t be surprising if the singer pairs up with the SONIC Foundation down the road to hand out even more tickets to educators. Here’s the rest of the tour dates in case you were wondering if Zach Bryan is coming to a town near you: Zach Bryan ‘With Heaven On Tour’ Dates April 3 – Tulsa, Oklahoma – H.A. Chapman Stadium – Trampled By Turtles & J.R. Carroll April 4 – Tulsa, Oklahoma – H.A. Chapman Stadium – Trampled By Turtles & J.R. Carroll April 11 – Louisville, Kentucky – L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium – Kings of Leon & J.R. Carroll April 18 – Charlotte, North Carolina – Bank of America Stadium – Caamp & J.R. Carroll April 25 – Lincoln, Nebraska – Memorial Stadium – Kings of Leon & J.R. Carroll May 2 – Starkville, Mississippi – Davis Wade Stadium – Dijon & J.R. Carroll May 9 – Cleveland, Ohio – Huntington Bank Field – Dijon & J.R. Carroll May 27 – San Sebastian, Spain – Donostia Arena- Ben Howard & Keenan O’Meara May 31 – Berlin, Germany – Waldbühne – Ben Howard & Keenan O’Meara June 3 – Oslo, Norway – Unity Arena – Ben Howard & Keenan O’Meara June 6 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Parken – Ben Howard & Keenan O’Meara June 9 – Eindhoven, Netherlands – Philips Stadium – Ben Howard & Keenan O’Meara June 12 – Liverpool, United Kingdom – Anfield Stadium – Dijon & Fey Fili June 14 – Edinburgh, United Kingdom – Scottish Gas Murrayfield – Dijon & Fey Fili June 16 – London, United Kingdom – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – Dijon & Fey Fili June 17 – London, United Kingdom – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – Dijon & Fey Fili June 20 – Cork, Ireland – Páirc Úi Chaoimh – Dijon & Fey Fili June 21 – Cork, Ireland – Páirc Úi Chaoimh – Dijon & Fey Fili June 23 – Belfast, Northern Ireland – Boucher Playing Fields – Dijon & Fey Fili June 24 – Belfast, Northern Ireland – Boucher Playing Fields – Dijon & Fey Fili July 24 – Eugene, Oregon – Autzen Stadium – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili  July 31 – San Diego, California – Snapdragon Stadium – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili August 1 – San Diego, California – Snapdragon Stadium – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili August 7 – Salt Lake City, Utah – Rice-Eccles Stadium – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili August 13 – Denver, Colorado – Empower Field at Mile High – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili August 14 – Denver, Colorado – Empower Field at Mile High – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili August 22 – Arlington, Texas – AT&T Stadium – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili September 5 – Glendale, Arizona – State Farm Stadium – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili September 18 – Dover, Delaware – The Woodlands – Kings of Leon, Fey Fili & Gabriella Rose September 19 – Dover, Delaware – The Woodlands – Alabama Shakes, Fey Fili & Gabriella Rose September 21 – Toronto, Ontario – Rogers Center – Trampled By Turtles & Gabriella Rose September 22 – Toronto, Ontario – Rogers Center – Trampled By Turtles & Gabriella Rose October 2 – Foxborough, Massachusetts – Gillette Stadium – Gregory Alan Isakov & Gabriella Rose October 3 – Foxborough, Massachusetts – Gillette Stadium – Gregory Alan Isakov & Gabriella Rose October 10 – Auburn, Alabama – Jordan-Hare Stadium – Gregory Alan Iskov & Gabriella RoseThe post Zach Bryan Teams Up With The Sonic Foundation To Gift 5,000 Free Tickets To Teachers In Oklahoma first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

The Red Clay Strays are always going to be proponents of mental health. The band from Mobile, Alabama – consisting of Drew Nix (electric guitar, vocals, harmonica), Zach Rishel (electric guitar), Andrew Bishop (bass), John Hall (drums), Sevans Henderson (keys), and frontman Brandon Coleman – has always stayed true to themselves. There’s a certain authenticity to the band that people love, and if you’ve ever experienced a live show of theirs, you know that the Red Clay Strays always bring an uplifting energy. That rang true last month, when they played at the Houston Rodeo and took a moment to talk about the importance of mental health while up on stage. Just before the band broke into “Devil In My Ear,” Coleman addressed the crowd about how you shouldn’t ever be ashamed to reach out for help if you need it: “When you are struggling like that in life, you also end up struggling with mental health as well. We always tell people at your shows, if you are struggling with mental health, be sure to reach out to somebody, and take care of it. Because I promise… it gets better. You’re not alone for any of it. You are here for a reason.” That right there is why the Red Clay Strays have such a loyal following. As to where that openness came from, the band credits growing up knowing Jesus and having a relationship with God when it comes to having a passion for helping others. They do really feel as though they are being called by God to do what they are doing, and there are some real world examples that support that idea. Brandon Coleman pointed out that they make music for a certain type of person when the band sat down on The Joe Rogan Experience last year: “Our fanbase is a lot of sad people. A lot of depressed people. Lot of people who are suicidal. We make music for that fanbase, and you’re not gonna hear that at a country music festival on the beach.” He then backed that up with a story that could have ended in tragedy, yet didn’t because of one of their songs. The Red Clay Strays have fans reach out to them all the time, and one woman sent them an email detailing how “I’m Still Fine” saved her life: “We get messages everyday. We had one lady who sent us an email saying she decided to off herself, take a lot of pills and she wanted to ‘go to sleep’ listening to music. As she was laying there waiting to take the ‘big nap,’ our song ‘I’m Still Fine’ came on. And it snapped her out of it a little bit. She started crying and immediately regretted it, got up and called her sister and told her sister what she had just did. They rushed her to the hospital and did whatever at the hospital for someone who takes a lot of pills at once and saved her life. It was so moving. That’s what makes it really worth it for us.” A really powerful message right there, and proof that the Red Clay Strays are bringing music into the world that has the power to save lives and break down stigmas about mental health. Here’s what’s arguably their most mental health forward song, if you wanted to hear it in full after watching that clip: “Devil In My Ear” by The Red Clay Strays The post “You Are Here For A Reason”: Red Clay Strays Shared Powerful Mental Health Message At Recent Concert first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

How do you even react to that? Fan interactions are always a mixed bag for artists. Though a majority of the time it will simply boil down to a quick interaction from a super fan at a meet and greet that will most likely result in something along the lines of “I love you,” there have been some incredible stories, ranging from positive to negative to downright strange, told by some of the country music’s biggest stars over the years. On a positive note, you have instances of fans telling the artists directly that their music saved them. Most notably, both Cody Johnson and The Red Clay Strays have gone on record, recounting stories of fans highlighting the fact that their hit songs, particularly “I’m Still Fine” for the Strays, actually saved them from committing suicide. On a negative note, you have downright strange, creepy behavior from fans, straight up sexually harassing artists. This is highlighted by the time Maren Morris recently had her butt grabbed by a fan at a meet and greet. Even more egregiously, Tim McGraw once had his junk (for lack of a better term) grabbed by a fan while on stage back in 2007. Of course, then you have your downright strange encounters like the time Eric Church was told by a fan that he got his wife pregnant at one of his concerts years ago. In a recent appearance on Dale Brisby’s Rodeo Time podcast, Cody Johnson shared his strangest encounter with a fan. Spoiler alert: it’s pretty out there. As CoJo explains, one time at a meet and greet, he put his arm around a fan to take a picture with him. At that point, everything was pretty normal. After the picture was taken, however, the guy would inexplicably turn to him, put his hand on his stomach and tell the “Dirt Cheap” singer to have a good show. “I’m starting to understand why Chris LeDoux never put his arms around anybody; he just stood there with his hands behind his back like a cutout. I take the picture, and he still got his arm around me. He goes, ‘Hey man, have a good show tonight,’ [while rubbing my stomach]. Clearly taken aback, Johnson would think to himself, “What just happened?” before noting that the odd encounter made him start feeling self-conscious. And I’m like, ‘Did he just Buddha belly me?’ Was that for good luck? I mean, then I started getting self-conscious. I’m like, ‘Am I putting on a gut?’ Like dang!” He’d finish by clarifying that, even though he’s never been truly starstruck, he always tries his best to be personal to every fan he meets since it clearly means a lot to them. “I don’t get starstruck, but I can see how people do. So you’re trying to show grace with them. Like [you] walk around the corner, and they’re crying and they’re shaking or whatever. And you’re like, ‘I don’t think I’m that big of a deal, but you do — and I want to show respect for that.’ It’s part of the craft.” I mean, I get being starstruck. I’ve met a few favorite artists throughout my career. While I’d lie if I said I wasn’t a bit nervous, I can’t really understand the process here. I get tripping over your words, holding a handshake or a hug a little too long or even freezing up a bit. But rubbing another man’s stomach?  That will definitely go down as one of the strangest fan encounters I’ve ever heard from an artist. Watch the full podcast here: Cody Johnson Tour Dates April 10 – Bossier City, Louisiana – Brookshire Grocery Arena with Kip Moore April 24 – Indio, California – Stagecoach May 2 – Clemson, South Carolina – Death Valley (Clemson Stadium) May 9 – Des Moines, Iowa – Casey’s Corner May 30 – Rosemont, Illinois – Allstate Center July 11 – Cavendish, Prince Edward Island – Cavendish Beach Music Festival July 17 – Columbus, Ohio – Nationwide Arena with Drew Baldridge July 18 – Columbus, Ohio – Nationwide Arena with Ian Munsick & Walker Montgomery July 25 – Jacksonville, Florida – Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena August 8 – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – Paycom Center August 22 – Knoxville, Tennessee – Food City Center August 29 – Saint Paul, Minnesota – Grand Casinoa Arena September 12 – Tacoma, Washington – Tacoma DomeThe post “Did He Just Buddha Belly Me?”: Cody Johnson Reveals His Most Awkward Encounter With A Fan first appeared on Whiskey Riff.