At the Pennysaver Amphitheater on Long Island, Ray shared the stage with such country acts as LANco, Chris Lane, Canaan Smith and Chris Young. “This weather is perfect. We couldn’t ask for a better day to have an outdoor concert on a 4th of July weekend,” he said. “Last year, Sam Hunt and I played here, so it was awesome.”
His breakthrough radio single, “Kiss You in the Morning,” topped the Billboard Hot Country Airplay charts. “That was awesome. It felt great,” he said. “It involved years and years of hard work, and hard work from a big team, which makes us go around. The slow climbing made it all much worth it.”
Each day, Ray is motivated by the people around him. “A lot of people rely on me to be my best, and a lot of people work hard for me, so being able to know that they depend on me, that’s what motivates me. My family also motivates me and just being able to do this for a living. I live a very blessed life,” Ray said.
Most recently, he filmed a black and white video for his latest single, “Think A Little Less,” and he hinted that he may be possibly filming a full-length video clip for this song. “We wanted to do a little live video, and we wanted to put that out there,” he said.
On July 24, Ray will be performing with Grammy winner Darius Rucker and country duo Dan + Shay at the Nikon at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh for the “Good for a Good Time!” tour. “We started that tour about three weeks ago, and the tour has been awesome. We are playing a bunch of amphitheaters. It has been a blast, and being able to be out there with Darius and to learn from him, he is the best,” he said.
Ray listed country songstresses Reba McEntire and Trisha Yearwood as his dream female collaboration choices. “Reba is great. I would love to do a song with Reba. That would be awesome, or Trisha Yearwood. It doesn’t get better than 90’s Trisha Yearwood,” he said.
He defined as “Doing what you love for a living.” “It is not having a bus. Whether it is construction, or if your dream is to be a custodian, if that is your dream and you are doing it, then that’s success. It’s about sleeping happy and being comfortable,” he said.
A Florida native, Ray fondly remembered the late Merle Haggard. “My first song I ever learned was ‘Sing Me Back Home,’ which is a Haggard song. He was a blue collar poet who lived what he wrote, and wrote was he lived, and was honest about it. Every male artist that has came after Haggard, has been influenced by him in one way or another. He’s a legend and those shoes will never be filled. There will never be another Merle Haggard. The whole world and the country world definitely misses him,” he concluded.
For more information on country sensation Michael Ray, check out his official website.
