Riley Green epitomizes the essence of a true country soul, whether he’s strumming his six-string, casting a line in the Ohatchee River, or deep-sea fishing off the coast of Orange Beach, AL. For this 6’4”, blue-eyed crooner from Jacksonville, AL, the country lifestyle isn’t just a state of mind; it’s an intrinsic part of his being. Despite his immense success, Riley remains remarkably humble. Having released lots of music in different formats, starred in TV shows such as the CMT’s Redneck Island, and hosted his own hunting program on DirtRoadTV, he has garnered a dedicated following of fans who passionately sing along to his heartfelt anthem, ‘I Wish Grandpa’s Never Died.’ A series of EP’s and albums like ‘Different ‘Round Here’ and ‘Behind the Bar’ have lead to where we are today, on the cusp of of his strongest release yet in new album, ‘Ain’t My Last Rodeo’ on October 13th.
Riley Green’s unassuming demeanour often conceals his musical prowess. Raised amidst melodies and lyrics, he spent countless hours with his grandfather, Bufford Green, at the Golden Saw Music Hall, immersing himself in the rich traditions of old country, bluegrass, and southern gospel music. Green’s musical journey is rooted in his deep love for the sound of traditional country music, a passion instilled in him during his formative years in the small town of Jacksonville, Alabama. From a young age, he embraced the allure of country music, skilfully playing the guitar and infusing his compositions with the wisdom drawn from life’s experiences. Apart from his musical pursuits, Green’s athletic background as a three-sport high school athlete and a walk-on quarterback at Jacksonville State University has instilled in him a profound understanding of teamwork and discipline and we were thrilled to talk to him all about it.
Thank you for your time today Riley and congratulations on new album, ‘Ain’t My Last Rodeo’, it’s such an evocative, powerful body of work.
I appreciate that very much, thank you.
You emerged as an artist at the tail end of the Bro-Country era and then the genre went a little Pop-leaning but where Country music is now, under the guiding hand of artists like Stapleton, Luke Combs and Lainey Wilson, is a little more earthy and organic. Does that suit your style & who you are as an artist more?
I think so. I’ve always kinda thought that every hit Luke Combs has kinda helps me, you know? I’ve always been a little more on the traditional side and it feels like that has come back around again right now. It’s an exciting time for someone like me, who has always been more in that vein.
You’ve been in an around the industry for a good few years now so it must be nice to see your friends having success?
I’m on the road a lot now so I don’t spend a ton of time in Nashville. I also toured a lot and put out a lot of EPs in the early days all by myself back in Alabama but there is definitely something about this town and the relationships that you make over the years – that’s how I managed to get people like Luke Combs and Jelly Roll on the new album in collaborations.
When you want to collaborate with another artist, like you have with those two artists on ‘Ain’t My Last Rodeo’, do you reach out personally or does the request go through the labels?
It’s probably supposed to go through the label, right, but with both of those guys I just reached out. I know both of them pretty well. With a song like ‘Copenhagen in a Cadillac’, I just thought that song was right up Jelly Roll’s alley. It was more about two buddies texting each other and talking about music.
You’ve updated ‘Different ‘Round Here’ from your debut album and now Luke Combs is on that with you. Did you use the link you had with writers Randy Montana and Jonathon Singleton, given their close relationship with him too?
Yes and no. I knew Luke before I knew them, actually. We used to play a lot of the same venues early on, down in Georgia and Alabama. At the same time, he is really tight with Singelton and Randy and we all kinda write together. It’s such a big city, Nashville, but there is a real small town vibe where people form close relationship groups with each other, so that definitely helps.
How would you say you’ve changed and grown as a writer since the release of early songs like ‘Bury Me in Dixie’?
There’s a lot about my writing, early on, that I have a need to try and constantly re-create. There is something so relatable about the way I wrote in those early days: writing about where I was from and things I saw in a small town, you know? As you progress, though, you have to start thinking about how to appeal to a much larger audience so there’s a little bit of tug and back and forth with each side of that process in order to get it right. I think about that a lot more now than I used to.
I really loved your collaboration with Justin Moore from early in the year. I thought the sentiment of ‘Everybody Get Along’ was superb and it was a fun listen too, reminded me of those Outlaw collaborations of yesteryear.
That was fun to do. It is a lighthearted song but it has an important message intertwined within it. I’m a huge fan of Justin’s and have been for a long time. I can remember seeing him in an interview right back when I signed my record deal, and he was wearing a Riley Green hat! (laughing)
It certainly felt like one of those Waylon, Willie, Outlaw collaboration vibes to me when we were in the studio. The conversation at the end was so spontaneous – it was just the two of us goofing off in the studio and they ended up using it. I miss those days where artists all knew each others music and they would sit round and play each other’s songs. George Jones and Merle Haggard used to do each other’s songs on albums. We all go to the same places, go through the same processes in the industry – I’m a big fan of everybody pulling for each other.
‘Damn Country Music’ opens up your new album, ‘Ain’t my Last Rodeo’ in a very plaintive and world-weary way. Was that the intention? It’s the only song on the album that you didn’t write, too, so what drew you to it?
I’ve always loved that song. Jessi Alexander first recorded it on her album in 2020. She’s an amazing writer and I don’t cut a lot of songs that I don’t write but I just love that song so much. In terms of the order of the album, some of these songs have been written for two years or so and so it’s not something you think about during the writing process but when it came time to put the tracks together, ‘Damn Country Music’ seemed like a no-brainer opener to me, it sets the tone for the rest of what is to come perfectly.
Whilst we’re talking sequencing, then, let’s talk about ‘Ain’t my Damn to Give,’ which closes the album down in a very evocative way. This album is bookended by two very impactful songs. That’s deliberate, right?
It’s the same conversation. When I sat and looked at the track listing I started thinking about moods and vibes. Obviously a lot of people don’t listen to CDs anymore or albums in order but I still enjoy doing that. I thought there was something really cool about the song, the harmonica and the somber tone that went really well with the way ‘Damn Country Music’ opened things up.
I put a lot of thought into the flow of this album, so I hope there are more people like yourself, who listen to it in order! (laughing)
‘My Last Rodeo’ is a solo write for you on the album and is basically the title track. Tell me about the inspiration behind that song.
My grandaddy, Bufford, who was the music guy in my family, passed away in 2010 and the seeds of an idea for that song were kinda sowed back then, although I didn’t know it at the time. The thought of somebody passing who tells you about it before the time comes and tells you to put your mind at ease about it came from back then. It’s a sad song that has a really positive message. For him to say something like ‘This ain’t my last rodeo’ to me, for anybody to do that, takes courage and strength and the idea came from that experience with him although I only wrote that song this year! It only took me 13 years!
Both of my grandaddys passed away before my grandmothers and I don’t think the song would have worked the other way around. They are both so tough and could have handled it but I wrote it from a perspective that’s the opposite of that.
I really love ‘They Don’t Make ‘Em Like That No More.’ That song screams ‘radio hit’ to me. Does radio and chart success mean a lot to you or do you not keep an eye on that sort of side of the industry?
As a writer, radio is not my first thought. I try to write to for me and then for the people that I know I’m playing to each weekend. The way to be successful, especially now when I think being different is probably the best thing you can be, is to have a unique sound and a unique and relatable perspective rather than be aiming for any type of chart sound or demographic.
With that mindset, going in and trying to make an album like ‘Ain’t My Last Rodeo’, I wanted to make a well-rounded project with a songs that work well together and create a flow and feel for the listener. If you are lucky you will end up with a couple of songs that could be played on the radio because that is part of the album journey too but that’s up to the fans to decide which ones those might be.
You remind me of artists like Kip Moore, Ashley McBryde and even Brett Eldredge in terms of being an ‘album artist’ who thoughtfully puts together a whole body of work rather than padding out some hits with extra songs and putting a package out there.
Thank you. That was one complaint I guess I could have about how we recorded ‘Different ‘Round Here.’ I love that album, still, to this day and I’m very proud of it, it had some great songs on it but what was tough for me as an artist was that we were touring quite a bit and I didn’t really get time to think about the album as a whole. Between the touring and putting out EPs which had 4 or 6 songs on you don’t really ever get the time to think about the flow of a bigger body of work.
On ‘Ain’t My Last Rodeo’ it’s probably the first time I’ve been able to think about what it is I actually want to say as an artist. I was able to go into the studio with Dan Huff and try to put a larger body of work together that is all tied together by a cohesive narrative. The process was really wholistic in terms of the songs and the messages that we wanted to put out there.
‘Mississippi or Me’ is my favourite song on the album. Do you have a particular favourite or is that like asking someone to choose between their kids?
You do become a little numb to it after a while. You write so much, you’re always looking for the next thing and then being involved in the production process of an album means you are almost too close to everything to be objective sometimes however I think it would be hard to say that ‘My Last Rodeo’ is not my favourite song on the album. It’s such a meaningful song, such a personal song, in the same way that ‘I Wish Grandpas Never Died’ is, it’s got that same kind of feel.
You changed the lyrics in ‘..Grandaps…..’ recently to replace the reference to Bud Light to Coors Light. Given the controversy in the south over Bud Light this year, is that something that is going to be a permanent change?
It’s funny because I’ve always changed the last reference to Busch Light and my reasoning behind that is that when I was in college I remember it was the cheapest beer you could get at the corner store! College kids will take a lot of pride in being able to get the cheapest beer, right? I’ve changed the lyrics and the references up quite a bit over the years, I even change the name of the football team in ‘Hell of a Way to Go’ depending on what town I’m in, so I like to bounce around a little but now that I’ve got an endorsement deal with Busch Light we change it a little more often than we used to! (laughing)
‘Ain’t Like I Can Hide It’ from the new album feels like a real live show banger! Do you think about your live set when you are writing songs or does the song emerge as the idea and the feeling dictates.
I always picture what the song will sound like live and what that moment would be like in the show, yes. To a certain extent I also think about what’s lacking in my live set and what the show could benefit from as well. ‘Ain’t Like I Can Hide It’ has that big, kinda outdoor-show vibe to it where it could really rock out and so I’m excited about that song coming out and me being able to add it into the set.
You are well known for your love of the outdoors life and hunting. We don’t have a culture of that over here in the UK so tell us what season it is now or what’s coming up soon that is going to get your juices flowing and get you out in your camo gear.
Oh we’re getting into some good stuff soon! September can be a little too hot, still, so I don’t often go out until the weather cools off a little. Right now it’s Elk season in a lot of states. I sometimes go to Nebraska or Montana for that. Duck season comes in around Thanksgiving, dear season comes in in Alabama in October too. The hunting period is usually from September 1st to February 2nd and I’ll be out in the woods when we are not out on the road! They are my two favourite things, touring and hunting and they go hand in hand for me. Without the other, I’d miss both of them!
We hope to see you on this side of the Atlantic in this phase of your career too, Riley.
Thank you, man, we hope to get over there as soon as possible too.
Check out Riley Green’s new album, ‘Ain’t My Last Rodeo’ – out Friday 13th October.
