Photo courtesy Grand Ole Opry LLC. Chris Hollo, photographer
NASHVILLE, TN (December 12, 2018) – A childhood dream realized and fulfilled last night (12/11), RILEY GREEN stepped onto an iconic stage at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium to mark his official Grand Ole Opry debut. The cheeky “Get That Man A Beer,” a song about commiserating with another guy about both being cheated on by the same girl, started the set on a lighter note transitioning to the emotional “Numbers On the Cars,” a story about Alzheimer’s that runs in his family. Riley capped his performance with his Top 20-and-climbing single “There Was This Girl,” leaving the audience with a celebration of how simply noticing a pretty smile can quickly grow into thoughts of buying a ring. Family and friends surrounded the singer/songwriter from Alabama, all feeling exactly what this landmark has meant to him. In anticipation of the night, Riley shared with Billboard.com, “I think my first performance at The Opry is going to be a very special moment for me. You don’t get many firsts like that in your life…My grandparents will finally think I’m famous now.”
Riley foraged his path at an early age performing at his granddaddy Bufford’s Golden Saw Music Hall, an act MusicRow described as “an ideal backdrop for country stardom.” The family-affair venue attracted local troubadours and proved to be a training ground for Riley to observe the various musicians who came through, essentially offering him a master class in Country music.
Having his family in the audience was a crowning achievement for Riley’s whirlwind 2018 that saw Taste of Country deem him “the newcomer to see this fall” as he “is clearly an artist on the cusp of stardom.” Fueled with good-natured rebellion, respect for tradition and steady touring throughout the Southeast, his music has tallied over 66 million streams to date as he has built a fierce following on social media and at live shows. He was also named one of Rolling Stone Country’s “Artists You Need to Know” and selected for the inaugural class of the Opry’s NextStage program, a year-long collaboration with the Grand Ole Opry that will shine a light on Riley’s background and take fans behind the scenes throughout 2019.
As he ascends on the charts and reaches other career heights, including MusicRow’s 2019 Next Big Thing, Riley will wrap up his headlining OUTLAWS LIKE US TOUR at the end of the year. While also crafting new music, Riley has already delivered IN A TRUCK RIGHT NOW EP on BMLG Records, which highlights his songwriting capabilities with additional relatable songs such as “Same Old Song,” “Break Up More Often” andthe title track. For a full list of tour dates and more, visit RileyGreenMusic.com.
