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The Red Clay Strays said they “almost died” when they traveled to the 61st Academy of Country Music Awards, which took place on Sunday (May 17) at MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The award-winning group — made up of John W. Hall, Zach Rishel, Brandon Laine Coleman, Andrew Bishop, Drew Nix and Sevans Henderson — caught up with Yahoo Entertainment on the red carpet. The band members said “the most country thing” they did this week was enduring an issue with their private jet that led to an emergency landing.
Rishel said “we almost died on that private jet. …Part of our engine cowling flew off during takeoff.” Bishop explained they had to circle for about two hours over Mobile, Alabama, “to lose enough fuel to land again, to then get some more planes.”
Hall brought out his phone and shared a photo of the plane, and said, “it was terrifying.”
The Red Clay Strays performed and went on to win the ACM Group of the Year award when they arrived in Las Vegas for the show. Coleman said “it doesn’t feel real, truly,” to win the category. “We’re truly grateful and thankful for everybody, our families back at home, and our team that works for us, and all of the fans who listen and use our music to get through whatever they’re going through. We truly appreciate you guys.”