Michael Ray: From Small-Town Stages to "Higher Education"

Michael Ray Roach, born on April 29, 1988, in Eustis, Florida, is an American country music singer and songwriter who is signed to Warner Music Nashville. Ray has built an impressive foundation in a relatively short amount of time. With three No. 1 songs - RIAA Platinum-certified “Think a Little Less,” “Kiss You in the Morning,” and “One That Got Away” - plus “Get to You” and “Her World or Mine,” he has a tally of four Gold-certified singles. The poignant “Her World or Mine” from his sophomore album Amos also produced a video that has captured more than 26 million YouTube views since its debut less than a year ago. Now, two hit albums into that all-too-rare blend of critically acclaimed and commercially successful career, Ray has released “Whiskey and Rain,” the first single off his Higher Education EP, produced by GRAMMY-nominated song whisperer Ross Copperman.

Early Influences and Career Beginnings

Michael Ray was inspired by his grandfather Amos "Wilson" Roach, who played music for him and taught him how to play guitar, in addition to having him perform at assisted living centers. 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 parents’ divorce. It’s family and stories, history and hope. Ray says music saved him, but it did even more: Music made him.

Ray chose to form a band in southern Florida after graduating high school, and a disc jockey at WPCV began playing his music. Ray was mentored by John Rich of Big & Rich on the singing competition The Next: Fame Is at Your Doorstep, which he won. He and Rich co-wrote Big & Rich's single, "Run Away with You". After winning the competition, Ray was signed to Warner Bros. Records Nashville. His first EP, Tour Bootleg, was released in 2014. Two of the EP's tracks, "Kiss You in the Morning" (which went to number one on the Country Airplay charts in 2015) and "Think a Little Less," appeared later on his self-titled second album, released in 2015, becoming his first and third singles, respectively. The track "Real Men Love Jesus" was named as Ray's second single.

Musical Style and Influences

Ray's music bridges vintage country cool and modern country’s best sounds. At age 8, Michael Ray’s grandfather Amos taught him his first guitar chords. “I read the Waylon Jennings’ books and I watched the Loretta Lynn documentaries,” Ray shares. “I did all this ‘research’ and thought, ‘Okay this is how they did it. They got in their cars and went bar to bar, fan to fan. That was the only thing I knew about breaking into the music industry at the time.

"Higher Education": A New Chapter

Michael Ray is ready to share some of the lessons he’s learned on Higher Education, his first new project since 2018’s Amos, set for release Aug. The latest song to be released from the project is “Just The Way I Am,” a Michael Hardy, Ben West, and Josh Miller-penned track.

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“I’ll never forget that time in my life when I was fresh out of high school, working a trade I expected to do all my life - splicing cable - and Amos, my grandfather, recognized how much I loved writing and singing country music,” says the Eustis, Florida native. “He said, ‘you can either look back and say ‘Damn, I wish I would have,’ or ‘Damn, I’m glad I did,’ and the latter is a whole lot easier to live with.’ With that, my band and I made the move to Music City. The next five years I leaned on the insanely talented writers, musicians and touring artists I knew, and the five+ after that I have leaned on this town.

“Higher Education is about going through life and the hard knocks that make you who you are … coming out of it stronger, having let it change you without hardening you. Higher Education also features Ray’s current single “Whiskey And Rain,” which is Top 25-and-climbing at country radio as it tops 40 million on-demand streams.

Following the end of a short-lived marriage with fellow country star, Carly Pearce, Michael Ray found himself at home in Eustis, Florida. The pandemic was at its height, and with no tour plans on the horizon, the 33-year-old finally settled into place, spending time with family and reflecting on life since his move to Nashville.

On August 27, Ray released his new EP, Higher Education-his first new project since Amos. “I am super proud of Amos as an album, but the pandemic made me really think about how I would feel if that were my last record ever,” Ray tells American Songwriter about the new EP. This drove the determined artist headfirst into this seven-track EP. When Ray approached his team about his ideas, he got the feeling they’d been waiting on his realization to strike. Higher Education is shaped by the muse of the man Ray hopes to be, and the lessons he’s learned along the way. Each song speaks to the things he’s deemed important at this point in his life. In being vulnerable, the artist is inviting his listeners into his world, pulling back the curtain on who he is off the stage. The biggest lesson, he says, was “looking at yourself in the mirror and thinking, ‘What are the things we need to change for you?

The title track, “Higher Education,” is a well-suited centerpiece of the project. He first heard the song in his friend Tim Montana’s garage, listening through his old demo tapes. The outlaw-fashioned track features Kid Rock, Lee Brice, Billy Gibbons, and Tim Montana and frames the rest of the project. Kid Rock was one of Ray’s first CDs-he bought it off another kid on the back of the school bus. “Some things school can’t teach us, only the real world can,” he explains.

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“Whiskey and Rain”-a Josh Thompson and Jesse Frasure-penned tune-sets the tone as the opening track and first single off the project. The intro riff pays homage to the Y2K country that influenced his artistry from the start. Some of his older influence shines through in “Holy Water.” The track’s star-studded songwriting credits include Ashley Gorley, Hunter Phelps, Ben Johnson, and Michael Hardy. The song is what Ray describes as an “old-fashioned story song” with a “good ole Florida swamp type feel.” Lyrically, it chronicles a storyline about a pastor of a small-town church that doubled as a moonshiner. Like “Old Red,” this song is a slow-burning ballad that details a story from start to finish, building tension with the intermittent choruses. After hearing this demo, he felt it painted the perfect picture of the place that raised him. The church described in the lyrics reminded him of the small white Baptist church house that his great grandfather helped build.

“I’m always just trying to make the best album I can make whether I write every song on it or not,” says the artist. “There are many things that are different on this project, but I feel like once I had that eye-opening moment of what was wrong and stuff I needed to fix, I heard this record.

“Just The Way I Am” is the one, Ray says, he wishes he wrote. “If I were to write a song about myself and the people from my hometown, that would be the song,” says Ray. “My family are the people that call you back if they forgot to say ‘I love you.’ But they’re also the people you call when stuff hits the fan, and you need them to have your back. While the autobiographical “Picture” might be the most personal, Ray points to “Didn’t Know I was Country,” as another defining track he penned for the project. “It was in that moment when I really felt a change in my songwriting,” says Ray. “I was just being very honest and wasn’t hesitating. In the past, I worried about ‘If I do this, will these people like me?’ Finally, I was like I’ve been through enough and I’ve survived it.

After garnering over 1 billion global streams, over 650,000 album equivalents, over 100 million YouTube views, three No. 1 hits, one RIAA-Platinum certified and four RIAA Gold-certified singles, Michael Ray has essentially earned his doctorate in country music. He has been sharing that knowledge through his latest seven-song collection Higher Education, with the official music video for the title track premiering. The video will premiere exclusively on YouTube, followed by a Premium Afterparty Livestream, featuring Ray and collaborators Lee Brice and Tim Montana, to talk about the video and answering questions from attendees. Brice, Billy F. Ray was joined by Montana earlier this week on “Fox & Friends,” as they shared a special performance video of the song from the Nashville Palace.

“It feels incredible to finally have these songs out there,” shares Ray. “I’ve already felt even closer to fans as they sing back to me onstage every night.

“There’s nothing better than music to make you feel less alone, to get you hyped up for a good time or as a soundtrack to reminisce on the past,” Ray continues. Written by Tim Montana, Derek George, Jeremy Bussey, Monty Criswell and Frank Rogers, and produced by Ross Copperman, Ray is joined by Lee Brice, Billy F. Gibbons, Tim Montana and Kid Rock on one of the first songs recorded for the album in the fall of 2020.

Having made his Opry debut in April 2015 with the help of his grandfather’s guitar, Ray will perform from the historic circle once again, marking his 58th appearance in just six years.

On Tuesday, Aug. 31, Ray will be joined by special guests for a unique edition of his Honky Tonk Tuesday series, which landed the Florida-native on the No. 32 spot on Pollstar’s 2020 “Top 100 Livestreamers.” In addition to streaming on Ray’s socials, fans are invited to attend in-person at the Nashville Palace on a first come first served basis. Fans can expect to hear Ray’s hits, along with current Top 20 lead single “Whiskey And Rain” among the new tracks from Higher Education.

Touring

Catch Ray on the road with his Just The Way I Am Tour as it continues before wrapping in the fall at the Tortuga Music Festival.

Discography

Studio Albums

EPs

Tour Bootleg (2014)Higher Education

Singles

*Kiss You in the Morning"*Real Men Love Jesus"*Think a Little Less"*"Get to You"*"One That Got Away"*"Her World or Mine"*"Whiskey and Rain"*"Just The Way I Am"

Other Charted Songs

Music Videos

Ray has released numerous music videos, including:

"Kiss You in the Morning"
"Real Men Love Jesus"
"Think A Little Less"
"Get To You"
"Her World or Mine"
"Summer Water"
"One That Got Away"

Awards and Recognition

Michael Ray has garnered over 1 billion global streams, over 650,000 album equivalents, over 100 million YouTube views, three No. 1 hits, one RIAA-Platinum certified and four RIAA Gold-certified singles.

Personal Life

Michael Ray has one sister and two half-sisters. He was previously married to Carly Pearce.

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