When the Red Clay Strays walked to the microphone Sunday night to accept Group of the Year at the 61st ACM Awards, the first two words out of lead singer Brandon Coleman's mouth were not about the trophy.
"Thank you Jesus."
Then he caught his breath and kept going. "Like Ella said earlier - just at a loss for words. Doesn't feel real, truly. We're just some rednecks from Mobile, Alabama. We're truly grateful, thankful for everybody."
That last word - grateful - is not an accident. It is the title of their next album, due June 5. And for a band whose entire three-album run has been built on an explicit, unashamed thread of faith, winning country music's Group of the Year award while performing with a full gospel choir on a Las Vegas stage is not a coincidence. It is the story paying off exactly the way it was written.
The Three-Album Faith Arc
The Red Clay Strays released their debut record, Moment of Truth, in 2022 on a crowdfunded budget. It went RIAA Gold. Coleman has described it plainly: "Moment of Truth was a big album about having faith in dark times, looking to a higher power."
Their 2024 follow-up, Made By These Moments, went three-times platinum and produced the number one hit "Wondering Why." That record was about what comes after the dark times - the survival, the shaping. "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."
Now comes Grateful. Eleven songs. Due June 5. Coleman describes the through-line without hesitation: "Looking to God in whatever situation you're in is a denominator in all of the albums."
Bassist Andrew Bishop put it simply: "We're grateful for how we came out of Made By These Moments and what we have now."
What Happened on That Stage
Their ACM performance of "Demons in Your Choir" - the lead single from Grateful - brought that arc to life in front of the largest country music television audience of the year. The song opens with organ notes, quiet and almost reverent, before building into a wall of guitars and gospel voices. The backing choir was led by three-time Grammy winner Shannon Sanders, whose credits include Jonny Lang, India.Arie, and the Fisk Jubilee Singers.
One writer watching in real time called it a moment of "heartfelt evocation of Gospel roots." The performance did not ask for anyone's attention. It commanded it.
Coleman has been clear about what the band is. "I don't think we're country," he said in 2024. "I love country music." They started as a cover band in Mobile. They opened for the Rolling Stones in 2024. They won Emerging Artist of the Year at the Americana Music Awards. They won New Vocal Duo or Group at the ACMs in 2025. They won Vocal Group of the Year at the CMAs in 2025. And now, Group of the Year at the ACMs in 2026 - back-to-back, two major organizations, one year apart.
The Red Clay Strays ended 2025 with a post that summed up exactly who they are: "Thank y'all for this amazing year, and thank you Jesus for the opportunities we have."
That is not marketing language. It is not a faith angle crafted for an audience. It is the same sentence they say at award shows, on social media, and in interviews. The consistency is the point.
What Comes Next
Their Grateful Tour '26 launches July 30 in Columbia, Maryland and runs through mid-November. The dates include TD Garden in Boston, Madison Square Garden in New York on August 9, two nights at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville in October, and State Farm Arena in Atlanta in November. The album releases June 5 via HBYCO Records and RCA Records.
Brandon Coleman became a father earlier this year. When his daughter was born in February, his post read: "Nothing will ever top this feeling. Thank you Jesus for life's greatest honor and blessing - being her parents."
Same two words. Every time.
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