Megan Moroney’s UGA Pop-Up Adds A Pink-Sparkled Chapter To Raising Cane’s

Still riding high from Tuesday’s announcement of her third studio album “Cloud 9,” which is out February 20, 2026, country hitmaker Megan Moroney brought her pink-tinted era home to Athens, Georgia, and The Blast was there as she celebrated with fans at the identical Raising Cane’s she once frequented as a student. Joined by Raising Cane’s founder and fellow University of Georgia alum Todd Graves, the “Tennessee Orange” singer clocked in for a hands-on “shift,” serving Chicken Fingers, greeting fans, and posing for selfies in a line that wrapped across the block. Megan Moroney, now one in every of country music’s most-watched voices, returned to the counter with humility and heart.

Dressed head-to-toe in pink, a nod to the softer, more self-assured tone of her upcoming album, Moroney reflected on how much she’s grown as each an artist and an individual since her UGA days.

“It’s amazing and humbling to be back here in Athens,” Moroney told reporters. “Each time I’m here, I’m reminded that I was once the sorority girl singing songs in the home without anyone to take heed to them, and now I’m here at the identical Cane’s my friends and I might come to, celebrating the upcoming release of my third album.”

“It was really fun to create music where I’m just, like, this version of myself,” she continued. “For instance, on ‘Unlucky’ or ‘Girl within the Mirror,’ I used to be questioning my price. But now with songs like ‘Beautiful Things,’ I’ve lived enough life to know that I’m price it and I can tell other people they’re price it too.”

She described “Cloud 9” as her most confident project yet. “By the third album, you’re like, ‘Oh, we’ve been here before,’” she laughed. “I felt firmly planted in my artistry. I’ve at all times known who I’m, but this time I had the arrogance to experiment and just rejoice.”

When asked to summarize the brand new record in a single word, Moroney selected, “Empowering.” “I hope the messages in these songs help my fans get through life the identical way music helps me,” she added.

Standing beside Moroney, Graves said the moment was emotional for him too, proof that dreams hatched in Athens can reach the massive leagues.

“Megan and I each went to Georgia. That is where it began for each of us,” he said in the course of the press conference. “I had a dream to open a Chicken Finger restaurant, and he or she had a dream to be a musician. Now we’re each living our dreams. Her album even comes out on my birthday! It’s fate.”

Graves added that when Moroney pitched the thought for the UGA pop-up, he immediately said yes. “She just desired to be here celebrating together with her fans, and that’s what Cane’s is all about. Community, connection, and great Chicken Fingers.”

Moroney embraced the moment, working the drive-thru, handing out pink Cane’s hats, and signing guitars and posters for the primary 100 fans in line. Between laughs and autographs, she also shared her best advice for college students chasing their very own dreams.

“Do it until it really works. Whatever it’s,” she said. “There have been so many moments I wanted to offer up, but you could have to consider in yourself greater than anyone else. Have fun the little wins along the way in which.”

Graves chimed in together with his own message of perseverance. “Take into consideration how hard it’s going to be to begin that business, then multiply it by infinity, and if you happen to’re still committed, don’t surrender,” he told the group. “If Megan or I had quit, the world wouldn’t have her music or Raising Cane’s. Consider in yourself and keep going.”

In the course of the Q&A, Moroney teased what fans can expect from her latest album and why pink felt like the proper color to capture its heart. “When you get to listen, you’ll understand there’s a softness to this album that hasn’t been in my others,” she explained. “It’s still strong and empowering, but there’s a gentleness within the lyrics that comes from confidence, knowing it’s okay to be soft sometimes.”

She revealed that much of “Cloud 9” was recorded within the Bahamas, a setting that inspired each peace and perspective. “Loads of the album, I sang the vocals by the ocean,” she said. “It was this calm, completely happy space. I’d go on the boat within the morning and record at night. That’s ‘Cloud 9’ for me.”

And when it got here to timing, Moroney said she wanted the project to reach after the vacations. “I didn’t wish to get in the way in which of Christmas albums,” she admitted as the group laughed. “So I figured I’d wait until the brand new yr, and I’ve got more surprises coming.”

Before leaving the stage, Moroney looked out over the cheering crowd and smiled, visibly moved.

“After I drive through downtown or past my old sorority house, I remember exactly where I began,” she said. “To come back back here and rejoice ‘Cloud 9’ with the individuals who’ve been with me from day one… that’s the dream.”