Cover Art Courtesy of BMLG Records
JACKSONVILLE, AL (September 20, 2019) – Echoing the title of his debut album, Riley Green has a different approach. One foot planted firmly in his hometown of Jacksonville, AL and the other crisscrossing the country to fulfill his fans insatiable quest for new music has the singer/songwriter topping radio charts and becoming an in-demand live performer. His music embraces a lifestyle of simplicity and respect that may seem foreign to some, but resonates loudly with Riley and his fans. DIFFERENT ‘ROUND HERE celebrates that small-town upbringing across 14 tracks, out now via BMLG Records. Listen Here: https://RileyGreen.lnk.to/DRH.
“One of the best things I did was staying out of Nashville at first. While I love it there and am so grateful to have a place at the table – it was great to be able to first build a following by writing songs for the people I saw every week at home and on the road,” explains Riley. “My family and the fans really helped mold me as a songwriter. That’s the cool thing about going back home and staying true to my roots. It’s a way to remember how I came up with some of these songs in the first place.”
Riley is helping carve Country’s new path in both the lyrics and how he offers up new songs. Ahead ofDIFFERENT ‘ROUND HERE, Riley has often surprised his followers with rapid releases straight from his live shows.
Of the unconventional approach, Riley says, “I play songs and if the fans like it, I’ll put it out quickly. I let them be the judge because they’re the reason I get to be on these stages night after night.”
Riley wrote or co-wrote each track on DIFFERENT ‘ROUND HERE and recorded alongside producer Dann Huff and executive producer Jimmy Harnen. The full-length effort offers a perspective Rolling Stone Country describes as “Drinks-in-the-air Nineties country at an Alabama vs. Auburn tailgate” and has already produced a No. 1 hit with “There Was This Girl.” The title track further cements Riley’s stance on doing things a little different – by staying true to who he is and where he is from while also tipping his hat to the simpler times.
With his debut he also ventures into love-song territory on the new “My First Everything” and “Hard to Leave,” which he calls a “tough love song.” It’s yet another avenue for the artist to distinguish himself.
Sharing credits posthumously with the family patriarchs, People praised another track, “[‘I Wish Grandpas Never Died’] might take him to a whole new stratosphere.” Honoring his late grandfathers, the song quickly amassed more than one million views when a fan posted a clip of Riley performing the heart-wrenching ballad even before he went into the studio. Reflective of the way Riley makes decisions about his music, he saw how the song resonated with audiences and immediately recorded the song. Listeners beyond that show have gravitated to Riley’s latest single and Country radio supported as most added two weeks before the official playlist impact date.
“Runnin’ With An Angel” is another track that Riley first played live and released after an overwhelming demand from fans. Penning the track several years ago after the end of a relationship he explains that as much as he missed her, she might have been better off without him. With honest lyrics steeped in acceptance Riley sings : I think what hurts the most is knowing I’m to blame // And I wish that I could change it // And it wouldn’t be this painful // The truth is that the devil had no business // Runnin’ with an angel.
Elsewhere on the project, WhiskeyRiff praised “Numbers On The Cars” as “the type of country song that stops you in your tracks, no pun intended. Riley can do it all – the party song, the love song, and the emotional tug-at-your-heartstrings song.” Rolling Stone Country also featured it as one of the Country Songs You Need to Hear Now and prompted Taste of Country to declare, “he’s something of a triple-threat in country music right now.”
Named an “Artist To Watch” by Rolling Stone Country, Taste of Country, Whiskey Riff, Sounds Like Nashville and iHeartRadio – Riley was also selected as a CMT “Listen Up Artist” and MusicRow 2019 “Next Big Things.”
After spending the summer on Brad Paisley’s 2019 WORLD TOUR, Riley is currently headlining his own GET THAT MAN A BEER TOUR. He will join Jon Pardi’s HEARTACHE MEDICATION TOUR this fall and embark on Jason Aldean’s WE BACK TOUR in 2020. For a full list of dates and more, visit RileyGreenMusic.com.
