SCOTTY McCREERY PREMIERES OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO FOR CURRENT SINGLE “DAMN STRAIT”
“Damn Strait” Marks North Carolina Native’s Fastest Rising Single of His Career
As Triple Tigers recording artist Scotty McCreery’s fastest rising single of his career reaches the Mediabase Top 30 and continues climbing, the multi-Platinum selling singer/songwriter premiered the official music video for “Damn Strait” yesterday evening via YouTube. Watch the video HERE.
Filmed in the historic Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, Texas, where George Strait himself played for years honing his craft before landing a record deal and becoming the King of Country Music, the video was directed by Austin, Texas-based filmmaker Jeff Ray, who has collaborated with McCreery on the videos for “Five More Minutes,” “This is It” and “In Between.”
The video served as McCreery’s first visit to the legendary venue, and the video, like the song, pays homage to Strait, showcasing photos and memories from the beginning of his decades-long career while McCreery and band perform on the famed stage.
“‘Damn Strait’ is both a classic country heartbreak song as well as a tribute to George Strait,” said McCreery. “I knew I wanted to film it at a place that paid respect to both elements of the song. When my director Jeff Ray suggested Gruene Hall, where George performed regularly with his Ace in the Hole Band before becoming the legend that he is today, I knew that was the perfect location. You can feel the history and the music of country music’s past and present in every inch of that venue. I’ve wanted to visit Gruene Hall for a long time, and now that I have, I’m looking forward to eventually coming back there to do a show.”
Upon the song’s release, Rolling Stone named it a “Pick of the Week” calling it “clever songwriting, delivered by one of the genres’ best King George disciples,” while Billboard praises, “Another ace is the clever track ‘Damn Strait,’ a rare outside cut on the project, penned by Trent Tomlinson and Jim Collins, in which McCreery name checks several of King George's greatest hits.”
“Damn Strait” follows McCreery’s fourth consecutive No. 1 single “You Time,” also from his fifth studio album Same Truck. Released in late 2021, the Garner, North Carolina native shifted his perspective to reflect on the last decade of his career and life with wife Gabi and dog Moose, with Tennessean sharing, “McCreery walks a sonic tightrope that leans into his country influences while not abandoning modern Music Row hitmaking,” while Sounds Like Nashville observes, “with 12 tracks in total, those songs ended up showing more maturity than ever, and exploring everything from the common bonds his fans share to the eternal flame of romance.”
Same Truck was produced by Frank Rogers, Aaron Eshuis and Derek Wells, the team who produced his previous project, the RIAA Gold-certified Seasons Change which debuted at No.1 on the Billboard Country Albums Chart and contained three consecutive No. 1 hits: the Double RIAA Platinum-certified “Five More Minutes,” Platinum-certified “This is It,” and Gold-certified “In Between.” McCreery co-wrote every song on that album.