Mississippi singer facing another round of charges; once topped Billboard list

Published 8:23 pm Sunday, October 22, 2023

The former leader of Bishop Gunn, a Natchez-based band, was arrested on Oct. 19 and charged with possession of a controlled substance and DUI.

According to information from the Mathiston Police Department, Travis McCready was stopped for driving a vehicle with an unreadable tag.

“Upon approaching the vehicle, the driver, Travis McCready, wasn’t wearing his seatbelt and had actions that led the Mathiston Police office to believe there was drug activity occurring,” the statement reads.

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Webster County deputies and the Mississippi Highway Patrol went to the scene to assist, and McCready consented to the search.

Methamphetamine was recovered during the search, according to the statement. McCready was booked at the Webster County Jail.

McCready, 35, was arrested  in late April at his Natchez residence on felony charges of non-consensual disclosure of a private image, introducing contraband into a penal facility and obscenity.

The charges stemmed from a pornographic image that was allegedly mailed by McCready to a prison inmate in Concordia Parish.

McCready last had a run-in with Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office during a traffic stop in February 2021, at which time he was initially charged with possessing drugs and multiple traffic infractions. McCready later pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana and all other charges were dismissed, court records show. With McCready as the lead singer, Bishop Gunn cruised to the top of the Billboard Blues Album chart in 2018 with their debut hit album called “Natchez.”

The band name itself was inspired by a tombstone that band members saw in Natchez over the resting place of the sixth Bishop of Natchez, John Edward Gunn. Bishop Gunn toured in Europe with Slash after playing two cruises with Kid Rock and received multiple accolades from Rolling Stone’s top country charts. The band broke up in February 2020, citing “internal issues” as the cause.