The Red Clay Strays just dropped Grateful, their third album, and it's a full-throttle rock record. The Mobile, Alabama band—led by Brandon Coleman—has traded the country-lite sound for something rawer.
Last year, the six-piece won the CMA Award for Vocal Group of the Year. But according to Rolling Stone, that Nashville recognition masked what the band actually is: a rock & roll group.
Working again with Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb—who produced their 2024 album Made by These Moments—the Strays have made an urgent record that stands with current rock releases. Slide guitars open "Don't Wanna Know." "Down South" carries Lynyrd Skynyrd echoes. "Demons in Your Choir" attacks those who use religion for power.
Faith is central to Grateful. Christian imagery and gospel messaging run through the album. "Revival" draws from hymnal tradition. Coleman sings: "Come spark revival, and be filled with glory / Through His power, your broken-heart story / It'll be made stronger ... amen"—gospel rock without artifice. The guitars are distorted, the conviction is real.
The Strays are no longer a country-group story. Grateful is spiritually direct, sonically confident, and culturally aware. It is the sound of a band that knows who they are.
