The Red Clay Strays recently experienced a shaky flight, which resulted in panic setting in for everyone on board. The moment happened mid-flight over the weekend while the six-piece country-rock band was headed to a show in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The group, made up of members Brandon Coleman (lead vocals, guitar), Drew Nix (guitar and vocals), Zach Rishel (guitar), Andrew Bishop (bass), John Hall (drums) and Sevens Henderson (keyboards, organ), revealed the scary moment on the band’s official Instagram page Sunday, Oct. 12, captioning the upload: “Apparently we hit an over 40 degree bank while trying to land in Salt Lake. Naturally, as we thought the plane was going down, @good_time_andy thought it was a good time to play some [Lynyrd] Skynyrd.”
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“Seriously though, very thankful to our pilots @james_pruitt56 @pruittjlr45 for their quick-thinking and coolness under pressure,” they continued, sharing that everyone on board is OK as the aircraft did end up making a safe landing after the scary situation. “Y’all rock!”
In the clip, which shows the moment of turbulence, various members of the Red Clay Strays can be seen clutching the end of a table while mouthing out expletives or putting their hands to their mouths in pure shock, while preparing for a possible sudden impact.
“If it’s gotta go down, it’s gonna go down to Skynyrd,” one of the bandmates says referring to the historic and fatal 1997 plane crash that killed many of the original Lynyrd Skynyrd members onboard, including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, as he plays Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘70s classic Southern rock hit “That Smell” on his phone before adding, “I don’t know. I think I wanna go back to commercial flights.”
“Hold it together, hold it together, boys,” another band member says out loud as the lead singer of the Red Clay Strays, Coleman, appears to retch while leaning over in his seat.
At one point, one of the group members asks the pilot, “So it doesn’t get much worse than that?”
“No, yeah, I mean. You die,” the pilot replied. “That’s about as worse as it gets right there.”
Luckily, as previously mentioned, no one was injured, as the pilot successfully landed the private plane. The end of the clip shows the moment when the group’s feet are planted on the ground.
“We’re drinking to that boys,” one person says, as Coleman claims, “I threw up. I threw up really bad[ly].”
Fans Are Glad the Band Is Safe
Fans of the Red Clay Strays jumped on to comment below the post, sharing their reactions to the scary moment while adding that they’re happy everyone made it safely to their destination.
“Stick to the bus boys! You’re too valuable to us,” one person wrote, while another fan added, “So glad you guys are safe!”
“So glad you landed safely!” a third person chimed in.
Salt Lake City Recently Experienced Bad Weather
The Red Clay Strays didn’t reveal what show they were scheduled to play in Salt Lake City, but the band was on the bill to perform at Redwest 2025 at Utah State Fairpark on Sunday, Oct. 12. While the music festival did resume entertainment, day two of the three-day event (Saturday) was cut short and the grounds were evacuated due to incoming storms and ‘unsafe’ conditions.
“For the safety of our fans, artists, and staff, we are unable to continue with today’s programming. Conditions at the festival site are currently unsafe to process,” a statement read on the Redwest Music Festival TikTok page. “We’re truly sorry and appreciate your patience and understanding. Please stay tuned to our social channels and check your email for further updates and next steps.”
Related: Country Star Forced to Cancel Concert Due to ‘Safety’ Issues
