Riley Green Credits Country Music Fans For Helping “Shape” New Music

Author Lauren Hoffman

February 5th 5:07 PM

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - DECEMBER 05: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Riley Green performs onstage for All for the Hall a concert hosted by Keith Urban and Vince Gill benefiting the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum at Bridgestone Arena on December 05, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum)

Riley Green is giving credit where credit is due following the release of his sophomore album, Ain’t My Last Rodeo, last year. The singer-songwriter says, “Who better to judge a song than the fans, you know, the country music fans?”

RELATED: Riley Green Speaks On His Admiration For Alabama’s Greatest Hits

From the time he started writing music, playing cover shows, to opening stadiums for Luke Combs, and everything in between, Green says teasing new music to social media allows him to “really see when something is there” and to use his fans to “help me shape these songs.”

Green continues to write about the things that he saw growing up in hopes that people can relate to them in some way. The country star says he “will always write those types of songs” due to the stories they tell and how meaningful it becomes for his fans over time.

One of those songs is the title track to his latest album and a song he wrote, “Ain’t My Last Rodeo.”

Green said on Shawn Parr’s Backstage Country that he knows how lucky he is. His home in Alabama allowed him to be very close to his family and loved ones for the majority of his life. He considers himself fortunate. “I mean, I had both sets of my grandparents lived two miles from me the majority of my life. My granny was living. She was 98, you know, like, I’ve just, been really fortunate to have a really close, you know, tight knit family. “

His tight family connection keeps him grounded, and that’s essential to his music. “I think fans are always going to be able to tell when something’s real or not. You can’t fake where I grew up at. It’s just how it is down there, and it’s somewhere I draw a lot of inspiration when it comes to songwriting,” Green said.

Green enjoys sharing performance videos on Instagram, including his latest post below with a caption reminding his followers, “You never know what someone else has been going through in their life.”

Fellow country stars chimed in in the comments section, including Morgan Wallen (“Love this brother”), Trey Lewis (“Pure”), Kolby Cooper (“Holy cow this is elite”), and Wade Bowen (“Damn good”), among others.

Riley Green will kick off his headlining 2024 Ain’t My Last Rodeo Tour on February 22 in Pikeville, Kentucky with Tracey Lawrence as a supporting act across select dates and Ella Langley across all dates.

Visit rileygreenmusic.com and follow Riley Green on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok to see more.

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Five Riley Green Songs Everyone Should Know

"There Was This Girl" (2018)
This song was released in June of 2018 as his debut single and the first from Riley’s debut studio album, Different ‘Round Here. The song is a story about various women’s impact on the narrator’s life. The music video for the song was filmed with the help of screaming fans at a club show Green was performing at in his home state of Alabama.
"Copenhagen In A Cadillac" featuring Jelly Roll (2023)
Riley told me of the collaboration with one of country music’s most popular guys, “I wrote the song ‘Copenhagen and a Cadillac.’ It was just a fun title and a fun song, kind of light-hearted. I really wasn’t planning on cutting it for this record, and then I did a show with Jelly Roll somewhere, and I thought of him when I came across that song, so I texted it to him, and he called me immediately and loved the song and wanted to be a part of it.”

He added, “It worked out great, and I think it’s a collaboration that I think probably people aren’t expecting, so I’m excited about people hearing that.”
"Half Of Me" with Thomas Rhett (2022)
This song went all the way to number one on the country charts and was co-written by Rhett and his father, Rhett Akins. Thomas suggested adding Riley Green as a duet partner because the two had become friends after hunting together. The song is about a man who wants to consume alcohol instead of tending to his everyday chores.
"Different 'Round Here" with Luke Combs (2023)
Green told me how the collaboration with Combs came about, “I wish I had a really cool story about it; I just texted him and said, ‘You want to be a part of this song?’ It was always a really big song for me, and the fans have always screamed that song to me at shows when I play it. I told him I thought it might be the next single, and fortunately for me, he wanted to be a part of it.”
"I Wish Grandpas Never Died" (2019)
The song that brought Green to the country music dance. Riley had written the song and performed it on tour before adding it to the tracklist of his debut album. He was persuaded to record the song by Brad Paisley. The song is a tribute to Green’s grandfathers, who are also credited as co-writers on the song.