There likely isn’t a bigger fan of George Strait than Scotty McCreery. The 31-year-old has been an outspoken fan of the Country Music Hall of Fame member, going so far as to release a song called “Damn Strait” in 2021. But meeting Strait in person was entirely different, and something McCreery admits he could never prepare for fully.

“So I had talked to him on the phone before we met in person,” McCreery recalls to Taste of Country. “But when we met in person, he was behind me and he tapped me on the shoulder and was like, ‘Scotty?’ I turned around and it was George and I think I said, ‘H-h-hello?'”

By his own admission, McCreery says he was not cool when he encountered the country music legend in person.

“It kind of feels like you just know him …You grow up listening to all his music,” McCreery says. “He’s the King, but it’s just like, ‘Man, you’ve been on my speakers my whole life.'”

McCreery knows exactly what it is about Strait, and his music, that has made him the King of Country Music.

“George had a way of having a song for everybody,” McCreery tells Southern Living. “He was everybody’s country singer. He had a song if you were feeling sad, he had a song if you wanted to dance with your honey. He had a song for the cowboys. He kind of seemed like the ultimate cowboy. He’s the king for a reason.

“His music was just so relatable,” he continues. “Me and my wife met in elementary school. You hear a song like, ‘Check Yes or No,’ to me that’s kind of our story. I feel like everybody has a George Strait song that they can listen to and be like, ‘That sounds like me,’ or ‘That’s our story.’ That’s the mark of a great artist and true country singer out there.”

The video for “Damn Strait” was shot at Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, Texas, where Strait’s legendary career began. He returned to the same venue to celebrate the success of “Damn Strait” in front of a sold-out crowd, making it one of the most memorable performances of his life.

“[It’s like] going on the Opry stage,” McCreery told 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 has another hit at radio with “Fall of Summer.” The song, written by McCreery, Brent Anderson, Derek George, Frank Rogers and Monty Criswell, is from his latest Rise & Fall album.

“I had a blast writing this song,” McCreery tells the Country Music Association. “Typically I’m in Nashville and writing in an office building or writers’ room. But I took all my Nashville buddies to the mountains of North Carolina, and we just piled around the fireplace without guitars and some cold drinks, and wrote country music. It felt like the old days, and ‘Fall of Summer’ was one of those songs we wrote on that trip. We were all vibing to it.”

McCreery will spend part of 2025 opening for Kane Brown on Brown’s The High Road Tour. He will also headline his own UK Tour this year.  Find “Fall of Summer” and all of McCreery’s music and upcoming shows at ScottyMcCreery.com.