When Scotty McCreery took the stage at the Ryman Auditorium on Friday, September 4, it marked the first live show he had played since March — which ironically was also at the Ryman — due to COVID-19. After first announcing the six-week Live at the Ryman series would be a livestream event only, the historic venue allowed 125 people, socially-distanced, to watch the North Carolina native’s performance in person, and no one was happier to sing in front of people than Scotty.
“I’ve been missing that for for six months now,” Scotty told Everything Nash. “It’s what I love to do. And it’s the only thing I’ve known for almost a decade now. So, it was an exciting time getting the band back together. They’re my second family. I spend more time with them normally in a year than I do my real family. So, it was good seeing them playing live music again, having people in the audience. To not sing on a Facebook live or something. that was really sweet.”
In August, Scotty made the difficult decision to postpone his European tour until 2021. After planning the trip for so long, and hoping to take his wife, Gabi, with him, the delay was heartbreaking.
“They treated us so well last year. We got the chance to go over to the UK, and Germany as well. I could not have been looking forward more to going over there, seeing their faces again, singing for them. They know all the words, to everything, so it was such a great time, but we postponed it. We’ve got dates already set for next year. I can’t wait for that.
“It’s just a weird year, where everything’s different,” he continued. “Some of our favorite things have been taken away from us, but you’ve got to lose a couple things now, and be smart about things now, so hopefully we can get back to doing that stuff sooner rather than later.”
In spite of not being able to tour this year, the American Idol alum insists he is doing okay, and is optimistic about the future.
“I’m doing all right,” Scotty said. “About as good as you can be this year. It’s been weird for us, and weird for everybody. But no complaints from us. We’re all healthy. It’s going okay. But, it’s been a weird year, and not being on the road this summer, for sure.”
The Ryman doubled the size of the in-person audience for Brett Young’s show, allowing up to 250 people, which took place on September 11. Old Crow Medicine Show will wrap up the six-week Live at the Ryman livestream series this Friday, September 18. More information can be found at Ryman.com.
Scotty just announced the release of a new single, “You Time,” from an upcoming album. The song will be available on September 23, at ScottyMcCreery.com.