Some artists show up in Nashville and it takes years to find their voice. McCoy Moore showed up already knowing who he was — he just had to learn how to tell the story.
On our latest Raised Rowdy Podcast, we sat down with McCoy to talk about that story — from getting kicked out of Catholic school for growing a beard and pulling pranks, to his first real break watching Luke Combs from the crowd in 2017, to cutting his own songs and signing with a killer team. And yeah, that beard? He’s had it since he was 14.
“I always believed it was gonna be songs first,” McCoy told us. “I moved here to be an artist, but I wanted to find my lane. I just knew I needed to suck for a while until I figured it out.”
The moment that lit the fire was a Luke Combs concert in Tampa. His mom took him. “He pointed to me in the crowd and handed me a signed copy of This One’s For You. I didn’t even realize he was talking to me — my mom was like, ‘Go!’” From there, a meet-and-greet turned into a one-on-one conversation on the tour bus. “That night, I went home and said, ‘Whatever I felt there is what I want to do for somebody someday.’”
Now, he’s doing it. And he’s doing it his way.
In just a few years, McCoy’s been stacking writing credits, signing with SMACKSongs in 2023, and building out a team with Track Management and the Neal Agency. But beyond the business, McCoy is grounded in the kind of humility and drive that sets careers on fire. He writes from experience — and from a place of belief.
“If I’ve lived it or felt it, I know someone else has too,” he said. “And that’s my job: tell my story in a way people can connect to.”
McCoy’s debut release “Something to You” introduced the world to his style, and now his second single, “Can’t Make That Up,” is out now — a good old boy love song that showcases the softer side of McCoy’s storytelling, written with Brinley Addington and Jared Hampton (of Lanco). The songs are just the beginning. His first full EP is on the way soon.
This year, he’s hitting the road with Hardy on the Quit!! Tour, traveling internationally for the first time ever (Guinness in Ireland is at the top of the list), and playing festivals like Tailgate N’ Tallboys and Voices of America.
And for McCoy, it always comes back to the team.
“I wouldn’t know how to do anything else — but I wouldn’t want to do it without the people around me,” he said. “Everyone in this town that’s made this feel like home… that’s what makes me love it even more.”
When we asked what advice he’d give to the next kid like him, dreaming of chasing music, he echoed Luke’s words from back in the day:
“People are gonna tell you no. But if you’ve got a little group that believes in the crazy part of your brain that says you can do this — go for it. Don’t turn around in 10 years and wonder ‘what if.’ Just keep pressing on.”
We’ll be watching closely, cheering him on, and introducing him on festival stages until the main stage calls. Because like we always say at Raised Rowdy — we’re here for the good stuff before the world catches on.