Scotty McCreery Caps Off a Banner Year with His New Baby Boy: 'Instant, Unconditional Love'
Courtesy Sarah Michaud / People.com
With the year winding down, Scotty McCreery is reflecting on the many blessings of the past 12 months — and looking forward to what's to come in 2023.
After finding out he'd be a father, the country star and wife Gabi made their happy news public in June, a week after their fourth wedding anniversary. July brought word that his single "Damn Strait" had hit No. 1, marking McCreery's fifth chart-topper of his career. At the Country Cares seminar in early October, St. Jude presented him with the Randy Owen Angels Among Us Award for his commitment to the work of the children's cancer hospital, followed just over two weeks later by the birth of son Merrick Avery — whom the couple call by his middle name — on Oct. 24.
November saw the release of the deluxe edition of McCreery's latest album, Same Truck, which features six new songs, including "It Matters to Her." This month, the singer performed on CMA Country Christmas, now streaming on Hulu and Disney+, and serves as executive producer on Five More Minutes: Moments Like These, premiering Saturday at 10 p.m. on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. And earlier this week, McCreery announced his upcoming tour kicking off in January, with tickets on sale this Friday.
Scotty McCreery Announces 2023 DAMN STRAIT TOUR; Tix On Sale This Friday, 12/16
Following the release of Same Truck: The Deluxe Album, Triple Tigers recording artist Scotty McCreery announces his Damn Strait Tour, boasting over 20 dates in 2023 through the end of April. The fan club presale will be available tomorrow, Dec. 13 at 10 a.m. local time, followed by the general on sale this Friday, Dec. 16 at 10 a.m. local time. For tickets and more information visit ScottyMcCreery.com.
“Looking forward to hitting the road in 2023 with the Damn Strait Tour,” said McCreery. “I’ve enjoyed my time at home learning to be a Dad to Avery, but I’ve missed being onstage with the band and performing for the fans. Can’t wait to see everyone in the new year!”
The namesake of the tour and McCreery’s fifth consecutive chart-topper, RIAA Gold-certified “Damn Strait” (which stayed at No.1 for three weeks), also landed at No. 4 on the Billboard Year End Country Airplay chart along with being named among Billboard’s “10 Best Country Songs of 2022,” sharing the single marked “one of the biggest chart hits of McCreery’s 11-year career,” while praising, “McCreery has become known for letting fans follow his life through songs like ‘This Is It’ and ‘Five More Minutes,’ but he’s also shown he has an ear for a great outside song, like this cut from Jim Collins and Trent Tomlinson.”
Current single “It Matters To Her” continues climbing, reaching No. 32 on this week’s Mediabase chart. He recently premiered the official music video, offering some behind-the-scenes footage as he and wife Gabi prepared for the arrival of their son Merrick Avery. “To me, the video shows off how much of a rock star Gabi was during her pregnancy,” McCreery shared with PEOPLE.com. “It also captures how much we both enjoyed getting ready for Avery’s arrival.” Both songs are available on Same Truck: The Deluxe Album.
McCreery, who was just ranked No. 13 on the Top 50 list of 2022 Country Airplay Artists by Billboard, was a co-writer on all but four of the 18 tracks, Same Truck: The Deluxe Album, which is available now on vinyl, CD and digital formats, and was produced by Frank Rogers, Derek Wells and Aaron Eshuis. The project showcases McCreery’s lauded songwriting skills with six new songs, including “On It,” reconnecting McCreery with “In Between” co-writers Jessi Alexander, Jonathan Singleton and Rogers, which was one of three consecutive No. 1 singles from his RIAA Gold-certified album Seasons Change. Celebrated by Billboard as a continuation of “his winning arc of songs pulled from chapters of his own life,” “Small Town Story” finds McCreery joined by his 2013 Platinum-certified Top 10 smash “See You Tonight” co-writers Ashley Gorley and Zach Crowell.
As the North Carolina native looks forward to his first Christmas as a dad to Avery, McCreery has been celebrating the holidays as a performer on “CMA Country Christmas,” streaming now on Hulu and Disney+ and re-airing on ABC on December 13, while CMT shared a rocking performance of Elvis Presley’s “Santa Claus is Back in Town” from McCreery’s “Campfire Sessions.” Earlier this month, he was the spotlight artist for a sold-out Opry Country Christmas show in Nashville.
Additionally, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries will premiere Five More Minutes: Moments Like These on Dec. 17 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. It is the second film inspired by his 2018 Double-Platinum certified No. 1 hit “Five More Minutes” and stars Ashley Williams and Lucas Bryan. The movie is not a sequel to last year’s Five More Minutes but has a brand-new storyline. McCreery once again serves as an Executive Producer, but he does not appear in the movie, as it was filmed during the last month of wife Gabi’s pregnancy.
McCreery is gearing up to close out another landmark year with four remaining shows in 2022, including three acoustic co-headlining shows with Lee Brice. Both artists will be on stage for the entire concert, and they will trade off songs with each other, providing a more intimate concert experience than usual.
Scotty McCreery’s Remaining 2022 Dates:
Dec. 15 Fort Smith, AR Temple Live (co-headlining with Lee Brice)
Dec. 16 El Dorado, AR First Financial Music Hall (co-headlining with Lee Brice)
Dec. 17 Huntsville, AL Von Braun Center (co-headlining with Lee Brice)
Dec. 18 Raleigh, NC 94.7 QDR Acoustic Christmas for the Kids Guitar Pull
Scotty McCreery’s 2023 Damn Strait Tour Dates:
Jan. 20 Hinton, OK Sugar Creek Casino
Jan. 21 San Antonio ,TX Let’s Rodeo Ball
Jan. 27 Joliet, IL Rialto Square Theatre
Jan. 28 Milwaukee, WI UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena
Feb. 2 Knoxville, TN Knoxville Civic Auditorium
Feb. 3 Charlotte, NC Coyote Joe’s
Feb. 4 Greenville, SC Blind Horse Saloon
Feb. 8 The Villages, FL Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center
Feb. 9 Fort Meyers, FL Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall
Feb. 10 Sarasota, FL Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
Feb. 11 Port St. Lucie, FL MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Event Center
March 10 Grant, OK Choctaw Casino
March 11 Tulsa, OK Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
March 18 Shipshewana, IN Blue Gate Theatre
March 19 Nashville, IN Brown County Music Center
March 24 DuQuoin, IL Cord McCoy Du Quoin Rodeo
March 25 Opp, AL Opp Rattlesnake Rodeo
April 21 Scottsdale, AZ Talking Stick Resort & Casino
April 22 Henderson, NV Sunset Station Hotel & Casino
April 27 Carteret, NJ The Carteret Performing Arts Center
April 28 Lancaster, PA American Music Theatre
April 30 Hagerstown, MD The Maryland Theatre
Billboard names "Damn Strait" as 10th Best Country Song of 2022
The 10 Best Country Songs of 2022: Staff List
Courtesy Billboard
This year brought several multi-week No. 1 hits on Billboard’s country charts, along with a surge of new artists earning solid hits with their first singles. Meanwhile, several established artists delved deep into themes of redemption, heartbreak, nostalgia and even revenge.
On this list, Billboard highlights some of country music’s top songs of the past 12 months, from established artists and upstarts alike.
10 Scotty McCreery, "Damn Strait"
Click here for the rest of the list.
Scotty's "Santa Claus is Back in Town" on CMT Campfire Sessions
CMT released Scotty's acoustic version of "Santa Claus is Back in Town" as part of their CMT Campfire Sessions online.
Watch it here:
Scotty McCreery on Country Heat Weekly Podcast!
Scotty had so much fun on the Amazon Music Country Heat podcast! Listen to his episode here:
SCOTTY IS NOMINATED FOR TWO COUNTRY NOW AWARS! VOTE NOW!
Voting is unlimited and ends promptly at 11:45PM CT on Thursday, December 15