Red Clay Strays Reveal New Album, 2026 Tour Dates
What do you do with a band that doesn’t fit well into any genre, and whose sound feels too old and elemental to American roots for most modern ears? What do you do with songs that yearn to inform, uplift, and inspire, as opposed to simply entertain? What do you do with a band that’s unwilling to play the industry game, and don’t know how to be anything other than their true authentic selves?
Conventionally, there is no place, no plan, no path for a band like this. But The Red Clay Strays defy all of these conventions to the point where they’re now one of the biggest bands in all of roots music, and are being nominated and winning mainstream industry awards while remaining decidedly outsiders.
The ranks of independent musicians are filled with oddballs and unusual cases who don’t fit the model. But the lesson and the inspiration to take from The Red Clay Strays is that if you stay true to yourself, there is no ceiling.
On June 5th, The Red Clay Strays will release their new album simply titled Grateful. Produced once again by Dave Cobb, it won’t be a Gospel album in its entirety as some had rumored. But as the debut song “Demons In Your Choir” backed by a Gospel choir illustrates, it will have a strong spiritual component.
“’Moment of Truth’ was a big album about having faith in dark times, looking to a higher power,” says frontman Brandon Coleman. “And ‘Made By These Moments’ focused on realizing those dark times that you were having to have faith through, which made you who you are. You made it through when you didn’t think you would. And now we’re at a point where we’re grateful. Looking to God in whatever situation you’re in is a denominator in all of the albums.”
“The title of the album’s a literal meaning to us at this moment in our careers,” adds bassist Andrew Bishop. “We’re grateful for how we came out of Made By These Moments and what we have now.”
Though we don’t have a full track listing for Grateful just yet, it’s confirmed to include 11 tracks, including previously-released songs “People Hatin'” and “If I Didn’t Know You.” It’s available now for pre-order on vinyl, as well as pre-save on Spotify and Apple Music.
Along with the new album, The Red Clay Strays have also announced new tour dates for the 2nd half of 2026. Openers include Brent Cobb, Wyatt Flores, Sierra Ferrell, Muscadine Bloodline, The Revivalists, Sweet Talk, and more.
New date presales start Tuesday, 4/28, and Wednesday 4/29 via the Red Clay Strays App. General onsale starts May 1st.
Red Clay Strays 2026 Tour Dates
May 24 – Norfolk, VA – Patriotic Festival
June 5 – Nashville, TN – CMA Fest presented by SoFi †
June 13 – Columbus, OH – Buckeye Country Superfest †
June 18 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live
June 21 – Bloomington, IL – Tailgates N’ Tallboys †
June 24-28 – Rexford, MT – “The Red Clay Strays Fan Fest 2026” at Abayance Bay Marina
June 26 – Calgary, AB – Country Thunder Alberta †
July 11 – St. Paul, MN – Minnesota Country Club †
July 17 – Twin Lakes, WI – Country Thunder Wisconsin †
July 19 – Cheyenne, WY – Cheyenne Frontier Days
July 30 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion *
August 1 – Boston, MA – TD Garden *
August 5 – Laval, QC – Place Bell * (NEW DATE)
August 7 – Philadelphia, PA – TD Pavilion at Highmark Mann ** (NEW DATE)
August 9 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden **
August 15 – Des Moines, IA – Iowa State Fair
August 16 – Sioux Falls, SD – Denny Sanford PREMIER Center # (NEW DATE)
August 18 – Grand Forks, ND – Alerus Center # (NEW DATE)
August 19 – Bismarck, ND – Bismarck Event Center # (NEW DATE)
August 21 – Bozeman, MT – Brick Breeden Fieldhouse § (NEW DATE)
August 22 – Missoula, MT – Adams Center # (NEW DATE)
August 26 – Spokane, WA – Numerica Veterans Arena ## (NEW DATE)
August 27 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena ## (NEW DATE)
August 29 – Portland, OR – Moda Center ## (NEW DATE)
August 30 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena ## (NEW DATE)
September 2 – West Valley City, UT – Maverik Center # (NEW DATE)
September 4 – Stateline, NV – Lake Tahoe Amphitheatre at Caesars Republic # (NEW DATE)
September 6 – Aspen, CO – Jazz Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Experience †
September 11 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center # (NEW DATE)
September 12 – Ontario, CA – Toyota Arena # (NEW DATE)
September 16 – San Diego, CA – Pechanga Arena San Diego # (NEW DATE)
September 17 – Glendale, AZ – Desert Diamond Arena # (NEW DATE)
September 19 – Pryor, OK – Born & Raised Music Festival †
September 20 – San Antonio, TX – Frost Bank Center + (NEW DATE)
September 26 – Louisville, KY – Bourbon & Beyond †
September 30 – Toronto, ON – RBC Amphitheatre * (NEW DATE)
October 1 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena * (NEW DATE)
October 3 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena * (NEW DATE)
October 7 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena ++ (NEW DATE)
October 14 – Orlando, FL – Kia Center * (NEW DATE)
October 15 – Savannah, GA – Enmarket Arena * (NEW DATE)
October 17 – Charleston, SC – Credit One Stadium * (NEW DATE)
October 18 – Greenville, SC – Bon Secours Wellness Arena * (NEW DATE)
October 22 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena ^
October 23 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena ^
October 28 – Knoxville, TN – Food City Center ^^ (NEW DATE)
October 31 – Birmingham, AL – Legacy Arena ++ (NEW DATE)
November 5 – Baton Rouge, LA – Raising Cane’s River Center ‡ (NEW DATE)
November 6 – Bossier City, LA – Brookshire Grocery Arena ‡ (NEW DATE)
November 8 – Jonesboro, AR – First National Bank Arena ‡ (NEW DATE)
November 13 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena ||
† Festival Appearance
* w/ Special Guests The Revivalists & Haley Reinhart
** w/ Special Guests The Revivalists & Brent Cobb
# w/ Special Guests Dylan Gossett & Sweet Talk
§ w/ Special Guests TBA & Sweet Talk
## w/ Special Guests Wyatt Flores & Sweet Talk
+ w/ Special Guests Muscadine Bloodline & Sweet Talk
++ w/ Special Guests Shane Smith and The Saints & Brent Cobb
^ w/ Special Guests Sierra Ferrell & Brent Cobb
^^ w/ Special Guests Wyatt Flores & Brent Cobb
‡ w/ Special Guests Muscadine Bloodline & Brent Cobb
|| w/ Special Guests Travis Tritt & Brent Cobb
April 26, 2026 @ 10:24 pm
Great albums. Great sound. Great live. Whatever their genre, if any, they seem the real deal. They deserve their success. Looking forward to the new album.
April 26, 2026 @ 10:25 pm
Winner of four Grammys, Sierra Ferrell opening for this snake oil of rock band is absurd.
Maybe Tyler Childers can roadie for them.
April 26, 2026 @ 10:48 pm
The Red Clay Strays are one of my absolute favorite bands and I’m looking forward the new album. But what an unimaginative album cover (!).
April 27, 2026 @ 2:06 am
So so so excited they are touring with the Revivalists near me, as the Revivalists are one of my favorite bands to see live. Less excited they are coming the day my second born is due… but thats more of a me problem… hope others go out and see them!
April 27, 2026 @ 5:31 am
Hey Brent, it’s Drew from RCS. Should we take this record deal? Nah man, hold out until a label says you’ll be big enough to headline MSG someday. That’s the one you take man.
Two years later – hey Brent, wanna open for us at MSG?
Un-freakin-believable what this band has achieved in a very short period of time. And well deserved.
April 27, 2026 @ 7:58 am
Though, you could argue it hasn’t been a short period of time. They have been playing together since 2015. It is true they are a relatively recent Tik-Tok / youtube sensation. The difference is that they had the experience, especially playing live, they also had the maturity, to take advantage of the opportunity to soar when they were given the chance.
April 27, 2026 @ 5:50 am
I’ve got to say that the thing I like most about this band is that I believe their faith is genuine and not used to market them in any way. They seem to have a grasp on deeper elements of a convicted, devout faith life (“God Does”) and it’s so refreshing.
Possibly going to see them in Grand Forks. That’s not likely a full arena show at that facility but their “half” arena shows are often better anyway due to being more intimate.
April 27, 2026 @ 11:16 am
Was just talking with my wife about how I hate the acoustics at the Alerus Center (among other things). I think the half arena layout will be better for sound, concessions, traffic, etc. Either way, excited they are playing in Grand Forks!
April 27, 2026 @ 1:14 pm
Keep in mind, I have no idea if it will be a half arena show, but I just can’t imagine a full arena show for RCS. They would more than deserve it, but I don’t know how widespread their popularity is around rural North Dakota and Minnesota. Swaths of people come from out in the lesser-populated areas whenever they do fill the Alerus Center for a concert, so that draw is important. I think about George Strait back in I think it was 2013, full arena, center stage. Those are so rare at the Alerus Center or Fargodome. It’s tough to book show that can fill either.
As for the acoustics in the Alerus Center. I think the dampening pads installed up above the catwalks made some significant improvements to that issue and I have heard concerts in that arena that sounded fantastic. If acoustics are truly an issue these days, it might have more to do with poor production or poor performance. It’s not a perfect music venue, but it’s not as bad as has been claimed over the years.
April 28, 2026 @ 7:23 am
If you go to the Ticketmaster page you can see the layout. The stage is at the 50 yard line facing one side of the seats. There’s a pit and some floor seats in addition to the elevated seats on the one side.
I saw Chris Stapleton there the first time he came a few years ago and the echo off the back wall was awful, as were the beer lines, etc. I haven’t been back for a concert there since, so it may have improved, which would be great.
If I go to football games there I will purposely park on a residential street and walk to avoid the parking bottleneck. It’s a decent venue but has some real drawbacks.
April 28, 2026 @ 9:55 am
It would have been smart, back when it was built, to look into whether or an exit directly onto I29 could have been worked into the equation. It was already enough of a heated conversation due to cost, as it was, so I’m sure that idea was scrapped or never even brought up. The traffic bottleneck is significantly worse than the Fargodome even though 19th Ave in Fargo is basically 2 lanes while 42nd is 4. It’s crazy how much worse it is, so I understand your residential parking decision.
I much prefer racing season in Grand Forks, to be honest.
April 27, 2026 @ 6:07 am
Jonesboro Arkansas!? wow
was wondering what these guys were up to not long ago… then instagram showed me a targeted ad of them shilling for Arby’s – but despite that, still looking forward to checking the new album out
April 28, 2026 @ 10:33 am
Love these guys but that People Hatin’ song was a total buzzkill for me. Feels like they had the momentum of a tidal wave and then that one song reduced it down to a ripple. Now the Demons in the Choir song comes out and it feels like we’re heading down a preachy, social justice road that I won’t follow them on (a la Tyler Childers – Long Violent History). The first two albums were solid. Here’s hoping it’s a bump in the road and not a fork.
April 29, 2026 @ 7:50 am
I really would like to purchase this album on CD, but the website’s payment system does not believe that my PO Box is a valid address…so it looks like I’m going to have to do without this album. I do not provide location addresses to online vendors due to privacy and safety concerns.