Evan Paul is the host of Taste of Country Nights, a syndicated radio show heard on more than 100 country radio stations nationwide. Producer Amber co-hosts the show with him every night from 7PM to midnight, and together, they play the best new country music and interview today's top stars: Luke Combs, Dan + Shay, Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, Brantley Gilbert, Lady A, Maren Morris, Miranda Lambert and more. 

It was a hot summer morning here in Nashville when Michael Ray knocked on our studio door. He wanted to stop by and tell us all about his new EP, Higher Education, which dropped at the end of August.

We had a few must-ask questions on our list, and a couple that I knew would be more difficult to ask. One of those more difficult ones was whether there's a song — or multiple — on his new EP about his now-ex-wife, Carly Pearce. He got really candid with us on that, and I think you will appreciate what he had to say during this episode of Taste of Country Nights, On Demand.

I also thought it was really cool that he told us the fist CD he ever purchased was a Kid Rock CD on the school bus when he was a kid, for $2. Michael gave us some really great answers and a lot of his time.

He also told us that his new EP, Higher Education, is him at his realest, both musically and personally. His close friends, both in and out of music, encouraged him to break free of anything he had done in his past, and get back to his roots and doing what made him fall in love with making country music in the first place.

I was really nervous to ask him about the song he wrote about his late uncle, but when I did, his answer was so raw and genuine. His feelings on the day of the viewing were so strong, he felt the need to have a writing session with Hardy and some songwriters that day to capture the essence of the exact way he was feeling at the time of the funeral.

This was the first time I really got to sit down and have a conversation with Michael, and I enjoyed every moment of it! We even played our game, "The 60 Second Song Challenge," with him, and as you will hear in this podcast episode, he did really well.

Check out Taste of Country Nights, On DemandEpisode 1 — Michael Ray now to hear the full interview. Taste of Country Nights, On Demand is part of the Townsquare Media Network. Subscribe wherever podcasts are found, like Apple Podcasts.

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