Releasing their first love song since “Wondering Why” during Valentine’s week. The Red Clay Strays have done it again, capturing the gravity of what love can mean with their brand new single “If I Didn’t Know You.” The Mobile, Alabama, band consisting of Drew Nix (electric guitar, vocals, harmonica), Zach Rishel (electric guitar), Andrew Bishop (bass), John Hall (drums), Sevans Henderson (keys), and frontman Brandon Coleman, are kicking off 2026 strong, carrying some of the breakout momentum into the new year. With a new record set to release at some point this summer, fans are eagerly awaiting new music, and the Red Clay Strays are wasting no time in delivering that.
With a blend of country, soul, blues and rock, they are one of the genre’s brightest modern day acts… even though they insist they aren’t even making country music. But at the end of the day, that doesn’t really matter what genre they categorize themselves in because the music they are making is addictive. And their latest single follows that same pattern, delivering a powerful message with a hypnotizing composition.
Ahead of the single release, the Red Clay Strays teased that something was in the works with famed comedian Matt Rife. While some might think that this was an unlikely pairing, Rife has previously described the Red Clay Strays as “music for the soul,” so there’s no doubt that he’s a fan of their work. Apparently, that’s so well-known that the band called him up to get him involved. After teasing a project, it was quickly announced that he would star in the music video for “If I Didn’t Know You.”
“Hard to believe this’ll be our first love song released since ‘Wondering Why.’ Our next single drops Thursday, February 12th, with a kick*ss music video starring our buddy Matt Rife. Gonna be a good Valentine’s this year.”
In the music video, Matt Rife plays a man who appears to have met the love of his life on the bus, played by fitness influencer Mariah Morse. Ironically, Rife and Morse had been a couple for the past year, but TMZ reported that they called it quits just days before the music video was released. OOF… rough timing.
But back to the music video…
After hitting it off with the stunning woman, their time together is cut short when her bus stop arrives before his. After saying they hope to see each other soon, Rife goes home and regrets that he might have just let his perfect match walk away without getting any contact information for how to reach her again. Rife’s character longs to cross paths with her again, reminiscing about their short but sweet time together while hoping for more. Morse’s character feels the same throughout, and the viewer begins to wonder whether these were star-crossed lovers or whether they would find their way back to each other.
Eventually, the two find their way back to each other and begin building a life together based on their undeniable connection and chemistry.
“If I didn’t know you
I wouldn’t know how to love
I wouldn’t know what it feels like
To be someone’s only one
And if I’d never seen your eyes
It’s like I’d never seen the sun”
The music video brings the lyrics to life, showing how deep love can be, but it also reminds us that achieving that deep, unbreakable love isn’t always easy. Like Rife’s and Morse’s characters, their love story did not have a perfect start, but they believed this connection was extraordinary, so they fought to find each other and make it work. It’s been four years since we got a love song from the Red Clay Strays, but “If I Didn’t Know You” was well worth the wait.
Turn it all the way up.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.whiskeyriff.com ’
