MICHAEL RAY - Drink With Our Friends - Warner Music Nashville

With four #1 Platinum and Gold radio singles to his credit, “Think A Little Less,” “Whiskey and Rain,” “Kiss You in The Morning,” and “One That Got Away,” Michael Ray has diligently built his career with each next step, moving from being hailed as a young emerging talent to the renowned superstar that he is today.

By retaining his signature style yet incorporating fresh elements into the mix, he’s once again creating a deafening buzz with his most current chapter, releasing both “Hold” and “Nothin’ Else” to very high praise earlier this year.

Coinciding now with the announcement of his ‘Drink With Our Friends’ headlining tour, he slides into the warmer weather months with the tours namesake, “Drink With Our Friends.”

Pulling accents of alternative rock into the moody slice of guitars immediately perks the ear as it offers something that’s not only different than what we’ve come to expect from Michael Ray, but that also swerves the feel-good commonplace that this time of year generally carries in its country songs.

Holding American pride in the truth that “Live Free or Die” and “Don’t Tread On Me” are so much more than just slogans on a bumper sticker, Ray slaps an anthem for the blue-collar when singing through the opening verse how they’re the ones putting in more than 40 hours a week, while using the second verse to draw a specific picture of his Lynyrd Skynyrd t-shirt wearing/chip on her shoulder country girl.

As each verse certainly does its part to showcase the salt of the earth American people at their very core, through the crunch of shredding guitars in the chorus he fully embraces small-town morals and values as he raises one up for all of those who stand tall in what they believe:

“We turned it up, time went on

We fill our cups with somethin' strong

We fly our flag too high in this town

Just try to come and take it down

We pay our dues, say our prayers

Raisin' hell in the middle of nowhere

Heaven bound, whiskey bent

We only fight with the devil

We drink with our friends”

While “Drink With Our Friends” feels like a bit of a departure from the normal expectations of Michael Ray, there’s an unbridled energy within the songs rebel-rousing attitude that will absolutely match the strike of his upcoming live shows, making this a perfect addition to his setlist as he unapologetically salutes the ones who hold tightly to the definition of what it means to be a true American.

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)