Man, what a weekend.
As I’m writing this I’m currently sitting here trying to recover from my first ever trip to Rock the South.
The massive festival in Cullman, Alabama featured three days of performances from an absolutely stacked lineup, including Zach Bryan, Cody Johnson, Riley Green, Chris Stapleton, Travis Tritt, and a ton more.
The crowd was absolutely wild, the Silverbelly Whiskey and Busch Light were flowing, and the music was incredible.
I mean, just look at it…
There was a pretty brutal storm that came through on day two, delaying the festival for a few hours and sending fans scrambling for shelter just before the gates opened. (Well, some fans scrambled for shelter. Some just took advantage of the muddy conditions).
@whiskeyriff Rain delay well spent. #whiskeyriff #rockthesouth #musicfesival #mudwrestling ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff
But once the skies cleared, it was a beautiful night for some country music, and the crowd packed in to see Alabama native Riley Green put on one hell of a show for his home state.
During his performance, Riley teased the crowd with the announcement that he has a new album coming out in October, and also gave us a taste of what’s to come with an acoustic performance of an unreleased song from the upcoming record.
Called “My Last Rodeo,” the song is a tearjerker about a man at the end of his life who’s ready to move on to the next adventure once he gets to his new home:
“I wrote this song about my granddaddy. Before he passed away this lyric was in my head, and it was him telling me at the hospital, ‘This ain’t my last rodeo.’
It stuck with me for a long time. I finally wrote this song about a month ago and I’ve played it a couple times. It’s gonna be on my album that comes out in October.”
“This ain’t my last rodeo
No it’s just time for this old man
To get this show on the road
When life throws you off your saddle
Don’t think you’ve lost the battle
Just climb back up and turn another rope
The good Lord might wanna call this cowboy home
But this ain’t my last rodeo”
Might be one of my favorite songs from Riley yet.
