IT’S ABOUT DAMN TIME. Last year, the Red Clay Strays were nominated for their first-ever CMA Award in the Vocal Group of the Year category. Some may have considered the fact that they were even nominated as a win, and there might have been a small part of the band that thought that way, too. They walked away empty-handed at the 2024 CMAs, but the band from Mobile, Alabama, was up for the very same award this year. And it should have been no contest, right? I mean, the band released back-to-back musical masterpieces with their debut album, Moment of Truth, in 2022, and their follow-up, Made By These Moments, in 2024, which speaks volumes about their caliber of talent. However, fans were concerned that the CMA Awards would (again) give the honor to Old Dominion. If this had been the case, country music fans would have lit their torches and grabbed their pitchforks, ready to burn down the CMA building, but we are happy to report that fans can put out their fires because…. THE RED CLAY STRAYS ARE YOUR 2025 CMA VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR WINNERS. View this post on Instagram I think the country music collective all thought this after seeing the group hit the stage to accept their honor: The mf'in Red Clay Strays, y'all. Love to see it.#CMAAwards — Whiskey Riff (@WhiskeyRiff) November 20, 2025 Drew Nix (electric guitar, vocals, harmonica), Zach Rishel (electric guitar), Andrew Bishop (bass), John Hall (drums), Sevans Henderson (keys), and frontman Brandon Coleman have come together to create something that’s entirely new, fresh, and unique in the country music sphere. They are by far the best Vocal Group in the genre right now, and their meteoric rise in the past couple of years only supports that. When the group got on stage, they remained a true class act, thanking the good Lord above for all He’s given them. Brandan Coleman thanked Jesus multiple times on stage, showing fans once again that they really live the message they preach. I’m not going to lie, when drummer John Hall said a few words in honor of his late brother, I choked up a little bit. This is a group that is greatly deserving of this honor… we made the right people famous. Social media was also thrilled to see the Red Clay Strays bring home Vocal Group of the Year, and even more delighted to see the reign of Old Dominion come to an end. Check out some of the reactions: Hell yeah!! Congratulations to Red Clay Strays!! #CMAAwards — Imagination (@SuppressedName) November 20, 2025 Plot twist … totally thought it would be Old Dominion. I don’t hate it though … loved their performance tonight! #CMAawards https://t.co/6opFieM5ks — Shanna Quinn (@ohheyitsshanna) November 20, 2025 Fuck yeah!!!! @RedClayStrays bout damn time!!! #CMAAwards — Travis Burleson (@Travis_Aaron1) November 20, 2025 RED CLAY STRAYS……HECK YEAH!!!#CMAawards — itsme (@father_son_hs) November 20, 2025 Jumped up and scared my dog. That's what he gets for making me sit through Old Dominion. — Whatever (@MIFrenchieMom) November 20, 2025 #redclaystrays well done and very well deserved!! #CMAawards — Travis Watkins (@thespitmonkey) November 20, 2025 Hells Yeah! Red Clay Strays #CMAawards Vocal Group of the year. https://t.co/rJp3WjSHRB — Jennifer L. Dawson (@JLDContentQueen) November 20, 2025 “I already thanked Jesus, we’re good. Thank you, Jesus, again!” @RedClayStrays #CMAawards — Asa Williams (@asavwms) November 20, 2025 I am not watching the award show but I came on here to congratulate @RedClayStrays! Yay! #CMAAwards — Savannah (@saviranch89) November 20, 2025 Love little big town and lady a bit congrats to the Red Clay Strays! #CMAAwards — Veronica. (@generalleiax) November 20, 2025 @OldDominion’s CMA Vocal Group Winning Streak is OVER!!!! #CMAAwards — Erin Barton (@ErinLBarton) November 20, 2025 Thank god. It was starting to become a running joke how many times Old Dominion has won this. #cma2025 #CMAawards https://t.co/GSaNlvzz6E — Titans_Tennessee615 (@TitanOwn) November 20, 2025 The Red Clay Strays’ Will Never Break Up The Red Clay Strays aren’t afraid to say it…. they aren’t ever going to break up. There’s a lot that goes into why the band from Mobile, Alabama feels that way. They’ve grown a lot together since they formed in late 2016, when frontman Brandon Coleman says they were clearing out bars because people didn’t like how they sounded. Bet most of those people would stay right where they were with hindsight, eh? The good news is that the people that originally didn’t care for The Red Clay Strays should have plenty of time to see them. That’s because Coleman doesn’t ever see the group breaking apart, and frankly doesn’t understand how some bands break up, as he explained on The Joe Rogan Experience: “I don’t understand why bands break up. I don’t get it.” Rogan cited that egos, internal conflicts, stress, traveling, and different personalities are often to blame for bands calling it quits. And think about it… some of the biggest bands in the history of the world have broken up (The Beatles, most famously). It almost seems inevitable for bands to have an expiration date. But Coleman disagrees, and thinks that as long as the band has their priorities in order, a break up shouldn’t ever happen: “I think you’ve got to have your mindset correct. For us, it’s a God thing. If you are just chasing worldly things, and worried about ‘me’ and how I’m getting done wrong or how he’s getting on my nerves, and that’s what dictates your decisions… I could see (that). You are gonna walk away from that. Because people suck and people are always going to fail you at the end of the day. But when you turn it into a ‘I’m not doing this for me, I’m doing this to fulfill my calling that God’s given me,’ then it becomes a selfless thing. ‘He who is greatest among you, let him be your servant’ is what always pops in my head. If I want to make this thing work, how can I serve these guys?” The Red Clay Strays frontman then offered up a story of how, in the early days of the band when they would all share one hotel room, the guys would fight over who got to sleep on the floor. There certainly seems to be a selflessness that’s contagious amongst the Red Clay Stray bandmates, and that’s why Coleman confidently thinks they’ll always be together: “When everyone shares that mindset, and everyone is worried about one another, I don’t really see how you could break up.” As to where that mindset came from, the band credits growing up knowing Jesus and having a relationship with God for treating their roles in the band with such equal footing. 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 first pointed out that they make music for a certain type of person: “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. Here’s to hoping that The Red Clay Strays truly never break up, so they can keep bringing music into the world with the power to save lives. And speaking of bringing new music into the world, the fellas released a new single, titled “People Hatin’.” A song that was penned earlier this year, the assassination of Charlie Kirk, inspired them to kick off the new album with it. You can hear more from The Red Clay Strays in the latest episode of The Joe Rogan Experience below: The post Country Music Fans Rejoice As Red Clay Strays Are Crowned CMA Vocal Group Of The Year first appeared on Whiskey Riff.