Michael Ray in the studio with award-winning producer Michael Knox, readying new music for release this spring. | Photo Credit: Connor Vaughan Morss
As we dive headfirst into a new year and even look ahead to spring, Michael Ray sees a new season of music emerging while in the studio with producer Michael Knox. The Eustis, Florida native has spent the last two years reflecting on his journey since moving to Music City and what it means to find fulfillment in all aspects of life.
“My romance with the business of music was starting to take its toll on me,” says the singer who first moved to Nashville in 2013. “Things really come into focus when you take the time to live a little life. I feel like the music that we’ve been writing has real intention and is focused on the next chapter. I’ve discovered lately, especially in spending time with my family, that there’s a lot of life you miss when you’ve got your head down, doubling down on work. I think a lot of folks feel that way as all our lives changed, and so this idea of being present has moved beyond an idea…it’s how I’m living life these days.”
Ray used to think of “being busy” as being in the studio or on the road constantly, but now he’s embraced the time between tour dates. “Being busy living life is the goal. I find I give more in my live shows when I’m the same human off stage and on, versus only giving folks one side of me for 90 or 120 minutes when I’ve got a microphone in my hand.”
Kicking off February 18 in Los Fresnos, Texas, with additional shows to be announced, Ray’s 2023 tour dates are taking him back to some cities that first embraced him as he retraces his steps from the days in a 15-passenger van, zigzagging across the Southeast. “I want people to come out to see us and know that when they do, we’re gonna take great care of that time as it means more to us all now.”
“The main things that have kept me going this year is my family, friends, and these incredible fans that have become friends,” says Ray. “I think they’ll see a lot of life lived in these songs, and hopefully they’ll see themselves in it, too.”
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit MichaelRayMusic.com or follow him on Instagram and Twitter @MichaelRayMusic and Facebook.com/MusicMichaelRay for more peeks into the studio and behind the tour.
Michael Ray 2023 Tour Dates
Feb. 18 Los Fresnos Rodeo Los Fresnos, TX
March 3 Dakota Event Center Aberdeen, SD
March 4 North Dakota Winter Show Concert Valley City, ND
March 11 Carnaval ME Portland, ME
March 17 The Foundry Greenville, SC
March 24 Shooting Star Casino Hotel & Event Center Mahnomen, MN
April 22 The JL Bar Ranch, Resort & Spa Sonora, TX
April 25 Von Braun Center Arena Huntsville, AL
April 26 Temecula Stampede Temecula, CA
April 27 Stoney’s Rockin Country Las Vegas, NV
April 28 Clovis Rodeo Clovis, CA
May 19 Grizzly Rose Denver, CO
May 20 365 Sports Complex Inman, KS
June 3 San Bernadino County Fairgrounds Victorville, CA
June 15 Barefoot Country Music Fest Wildwood, NJ
Aug. 26 Country In The Burg Cedarburg, WI
Michael Ray | Credit: Spidey Smith |
About Michael Ray For Michael Ray, music is his grandfather singing and sweating on a rural Florida stage. It’s the childhood refuge he found during the pain of his parent’s divorce. It’s family and stories, history and hope. Ray says music saved him, but it did even more: Music made him. Ray has built an impressive foundation: four No. 1 songs – RIAA Platinum-certified “Think a Little Less,” RIAA Platinum-certified “Whiskey And Rain,” RIAA Gold-certified “Kiss You in the Morning,” RIAA Gold-certified “One That Got Away” – plus “Get to You” and “Her World or Mine,” brings his tally to four Gold-certified singles. Ray has garnered over 1 billion global streams, over 650,000 album equivalents, over 150 million YouTube views, and has performed at the Grand Ole Opry over 65 times. Two hit albums into that all-too-rare blend of critically acclaimed and commercially successful career, Ray released Higher Education. Proof that heartbroken wallowing can feel good if it swings, “Whiskey And Rain” marked his first multi-week No. 1, cementing him as the ideal bridge between vintage country cool and modern country’s best sounds. Ray recently released The Bootleggers Sessions, which features classic country covers, including Tracy Lawrence’s “Time Marches On” and George Strait’s “The Chair,” following The Warehouse Sessions of live performances of songs from Higher Education. Ray is gearing up to release more new music this spring and is currently in the studio with award-winning producer Michael Knox. For more information, visit MichaelRayMusic.com or follow him on Instagram and Twitter @MichaelRayMusic and Facebook.com/MusicMichaelRay.
Photo Credit: Connor Vaughan Morss
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