If Michael Ray has a North Star in country music, it might be Tim McGraw. The Florida native says he has looked up to McGraw, and how he makes music — a career he hopes to emulate as his own career continues to grow.

“I try to make records like McGraw does,” Ray tells People. “I mean you can put on a McGraw record, and you are going to turn that whole dang thing.”

It’s a career Ray continues to look to as he readies the release of his next set of tunes, following his 2021 Higher Education EP. Ray is learning who he is, and isn’t, as an artist, finding an assuredness that by his own admission was lacking in his early years.

“I was never that confident, you know?” Ray reflects. “Growing up riding roads and being a country kid from Florida and then getting to where I am in my career… there were just times when I was like, ‘I don’t want to mess up or lose any of this’ by going in another direction. I think as an artist I’ve grown so much over the years.”

Higher Education includes Ray’s current single, “Holy Water.” The song, inching close to the Top 30, is an indication of what fans can expect from him, moving forward.

“Both with Higher Education and what’s going to be coming next is going to be different than what anybody’s heard. It’s not going to be some shocker out of nowhere though … I’m not doing a jazz album,” he jokes.

Ashley Gorley, Hunter Phelps, Ben Johnson and HARDY penned “Holy Water,” a song that Ray knew he wanted to record as soon as he heard it.

“What made me love it was that you fall in love with those characters that I’m singing about,” Ray explains. “The preacher is not a bad guy. He just got caught up doing country s—. So, you still root for the guy, you know?”

Perhaps Ray can get some advice from McGraw himself this weekend. The two will both perform at the Boots & Brews Country Music Festival in Ventura, California on Friday, October 14, and Ray is almost as eager to see McGraw perform as he is to take the stage himslef.

“I’m a little bit like a giddy 13-year-old kid about this right now,” Ray jokes. “I’m trying to stay cool about it, but yeah. We’re not the same.”

“I’ll definitely stay to watch McGraw play,” he adds. “I never thought I would have a side stage pass to see McGraw, so I might just take advantage of it.”

Find all of Ray’s music and tour dates at MichaelRayMusic.com.

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