That time The Red Clay Strays played at the Taproom
We like to think Brian has done a pretty solid job over the years of recognizing talented musical acts. We say “pretty” solid because he was extremely hesitant to book a band back in 2018 called The Red Clay Strays.
Drew Nix of The Strays helped out for a band that played a fundraiser at the taproom in the fall of 2017. After the show, he approached Brian at the end of the bar, asking to get his actual, new band a spot at the taproom. After some back and forth, a Sunday afternoon was agreed upon for a very minimal price for this band to come give it a go. That Sunday went well; the band added some members, and then their manager at the time reached out about the full band coming in to play the taproom at the end of 2017.
Well, the band that just played a sold-out Madison Square Garden, was told there were not really any openings until March of 2018. The taproom was just that busy with plenty of other musicians who would never appear on The Jimmy Fallon Show. Not to mention the price! The manager was pushing hard for $125 per band member for a 3-hour show. Talk about taking the music budget to the limit, that was a tough decision.
After an exchange of emails, the full band Red Clay Strays made their debut at Fairhope Brewing Company on March 23, 2018. While we cannot recall the exact price the band agreed upon, we feel pretty confident it was a bargain! The Strays played the taproom another 2 or 3 times after that March appearance, always putting on a fantastic show.
So as we see these local guys headlining huge venues, having songs played on “Landman,” showing up on late night talk shows - oh and winning CMA awards! - we have to take some pride in the fact that there was a day when they considered the taproom to be a really good venue. Even if Brian made it difficult on them!
So to Drew, Brandon, Andrew, Zach, and John, cheers to representing Lower Alabama the way you have!