On May 8th, country music will take over The Star in Frisco, Texas for the 2025 ACM Awards hosted by country music star Reba McEntire. Expected to stream live on Prime Video and Twitch, apparently, the ACM Awards couldn’t wait a few weeks as the organization already started handing out awards. Ella Langley and Zach Top have been crowned the New Female and Male Artist of the Year, respectively. And for the Red Clay Strays, they got a chance to celebrate early as they won Best New Group of the Year.
Formed in Mobile, Alabama, the Red Clay Strays watched stardom surround them when they released the 2022 hit song “Wondering Why.” The song eventually went viral on TikTok just a year later. It also became the first song from the band to land on the Billboard Hot 100. Looking back over the last year, the Red Clay Strays also released their second album with Made by These Moments.
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Sharing a post of the band celebrating the recent award, the ACM Awards wrote, “ The @RedClayStrays were surprised with their first ACM Award after being named ACM New Duo or Group of the Year while recording with Dave Cobb in Savannah, GA.”
The Red Clay Strays Might Not Be Country
Although thrilled over the award, the Red Clay Strays don’t necessarily see themselves as a country music band. Once speaking with Rolling Stone, frontman Brandon Coleman saw the group as Americana. “I don’t think we’re country. I love country music. That’s what I was raised on. If anything, we’re Americana. And it’s funny, because actual country music like Sturgill and Tyler Childers get lumped into Americana.”
When discussing the unique sound of the band, Coleman added, “It’s all these different rhythms and genres coming together to form whatever sound it is we play now. I guess it’s country? But we’re kind of all over the place.”
Even with Coleman trying to understand the home for the Red Clay Strays, the band remained focused on entertaining fans and putting in the work. “We try to put on a good show and just want to be an inspiration for people. You don’t lean against a shovel and pray for a hole. You’re going to have to do the work.”
(Photo by: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images)
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