Scotty McCreery honored his musical hero, George Strait, in both his recent multi-week, No. 1 hit with “Damn Strait,” as well as the video,, which was shot at the iconic Gruene Hall, where Strait’s legendary career began. McCreery will return to Gruene Hall, in New Braunfels, Texas, to celebrate the “Damn Strait” success on September 23, an event that McCreery says will undoubtedly go down in his own personal history as one of the most important shows he has ever played.
“[It’s like] going on the Opry stage,” McCreery reflects to Everything Nash and other media outlets. “You’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, my heroes have played here before that I grew up listening to.’ And Gruene Hall is that same kind of thing. Number one, a lot of other acts besides George Strait [played there]. But George really cut his teeth there, him and his Ace in the Hole band. That’s where
they got their start.”
McCreery felt it was important to film the “Damn Strait” video at Gruene Hall, even if it wasn’t quite the magical experience the video portrays.
“I had to go in there to film the music video, but we were just filming the video there,” McCreery states. “We didn’t have fans packed in there to play a show, and show them our music. And we had these light cans behind us to film. And if you go back and watch, the lights will come on behind us. Those things had to be 1000 degrees, the hottest thing I’ve ever felt in my life. So it was slightly uncomfortable to film that video. But now we get to go back with just me and the band. Everybody’s got their guitars.
“We get to play our own music,” he continues. “There will definitely be a healthy amount of George Strait covers, I’m sure, for that show, and we get to play ‘Damn Strait,’ after the song has finished its lifecycle on the charts. It will be a special night, for sure. It’s circled on my calendar.”
“Damn Strait” was written by Trent Tomlinson and Jim Collins, but seemed as if it was written specifically for McCreery.
“I was writing songs left and right,” McCreery told Everything Nash. “We had the songs put on there, but for me, when I heard a song ‘Damn Strait,’ I immediately raised my hand and said, ‘Me, me, me.’ It’s such a cool song. It’s so cleverly written. And obviously, I’m a massive George Strait fan. It just sounded so much like me.”
Tickets for all of McCreery’s upcoming concerts, including his Gruene Hall show, can be found by visiting his website.