Ray Fulcher performing at the Maui Jim Broadway Stage at Bridgestone Arena at CMA Music Fest for the second year in a row. He will perform at 10:45 a.m. on Thursday, June 8. In addition, there will be two opportunities for fans to have a meet and greet with Fulcher at Fan Fair X inside the Music City Center.
For Fulcher, the opportunity to play CMA Music Fest is like a dream come true. “You hope to one day be on one the CMA sanctioned stages,” he said. He said he gained a lot of new fans last year during CMA Music Fest because there is so much access to the artists.
If you haven’t heard of Fulcher yet, you most likely have heard some of the songs he has written. He has written several songs with Luke Combs that Combs has recorded.
Fulcher is currently opening some shows on Combs’ Beer Never Broke My Heart Tour. He said it is the first time that he has been on a big tour. He toured with Combs in 2017 and Morgan Wallen last year, but those were mainly concerts playing clubs. Now, he has the opportunity to play in some venues that hold 20,000 people or more. Some of the venues Fulcher is playing are outdoor venues. Fulcher said the energy is different especially with the outdoor venues. He said it is summer and everyone is ready to have a good time.
When Fulcher is not touring with Combs, Fulcher plays some of the songs he has co-written with Combs in his show. He says he’s inevitably tied in with Combs and Combs is a part of his story. He said a lot of people might not know that he wrote certain songs. “Some people first found me because of those songs,” Fulcher said.
Fulcher said they don’t always know how popular a song might be when they are writing. For example, they wrote “When It Rains, It Pours” before Combs had a record deal. Of the songs they have written together and Combs has released, Fulcher said “I Got Away With You” is probably his favorite.
Aside from being a songwriter, Fulcher has his own music available. His Somebody Like Me album was released earlier this year. One of the songs on the album is “Jesus and Jeopardy,” which is a song about Fulcher’s grandfather, who died in 2005.
It has been six years since Fulcher released his Turn It Up EP. He said he doesn’t play the older songs much, except when they are requested.