He certainly has a way with words.
Riley Green released his new album That’s Just Me a couple weeks ago, which features a pretty lengthy 19-song tracklist. It also features collaborations with Hannah McFarland, Jake Worthington, Alabama’s Randy Owen, and my personal favorite, Brooks & Dunn.
Riley’s career has blown up over the last several years, and while all artists evolve, he hasn’t changed who he is fundamentally as an artist. Fans can always count on him to deliver really quality songs with beautiful lyrics and great production, and that’s what he delivered here.
In addition to consistently putting out great music, Riley is an artist who basically stays on the road year round, and I think that has a lot to do with his current success. He’s spent years and years putting on shows all over the country, earning fans by delivering concerts that never disappoint, and I think that organic connection with his fans is paying off in a huge way now.
To give you an example of just how popular he’s become, Riley earned his highest charting album ever and first ever top 10 on the Billboard 200 chart as That’s Just Me came in at #3 on the all-genre chart.
But he doesn’t credit his singing voice for all of his success… Riley says it’s his writing that’s made him a country star.
During an interview on the Zach Sang Show, he was asked about comments he’s made in the past about not having the best singing voice, and Riley says it’s caused him to take a unique approach with his career.
He’s always thought about what he’s doing from a fan’s perspective, and all of his decisions come from that place:
“Honestly, I think maybe, taste, you know. I think I’ve always thought about things as a fan. Like, what would I wanna see my favorite singer do on stage? How would I want him to perform this song? What type of song we don’t wanna hear him sing? And I think that songwriting for me was what opened the door to having a career.”
But at his core, Riley is a writer, a really great writer.
Some of his best songs are solo writes, and I’ve always thought his writing ability was his strong suit. I mean, “Worst Way,” “Don’t Mind If I Do” and “Jesus Saves,” just to name a few, were all solo writes.
It’s impressive, and Riley says when he first started playing cover shows long ago he realized that writing was his strong suit, and he knew that he had a perspective that allowed him to write songs no one else could:
“I can remember playing cover shows for years and years and years, and there were so many people that were better than me. And so when I started writing, I thought, well I can set myself apart from somebody because I’m the only person to write that particular song, or that line, or that experience.
And now, it’s even more so that way, because you know there’s so much music out there. There’s so many ways to discover a new artist with all these different avenues, and social media.
So writing from a place that I think is unique to where I grew up, and how I was raised, and my life experiences, I think is about the only way I can set myself apart.”
Being a writer is everything in country music, and I think him honing his skills with the pen was the smartest thing he could’ve done… even if he was a Chris Stapleton-level singer, being able write like he does is a special talent and has obviously afforded him a very successful career that has absolutely taken off:
@zachsangshow @Riley Green on having success without being the most musically talented #rileygreen #songwriter #countrymusic #zachsangshow #fyp ♬ original sound – Zach Sang Show
Riley’s new album is great, and you can check out some of my favorites below.
“Lookout Mountain”
“P.O.S.”
“Beach Happy”
“Pave All Them Red Dirt Roads ft. Brooks & Dunn”
The full interview is available below.
Riley just announced his extensive 2027 That’s Just Me tour, named for the new album, and I have to imagine he’ll be adding more dates at some point too.
That’s Just Me Tour Dates
April 1 – Spokane, Washington
April 2 – Seattle, Washington
April 3 – Eugene, Oregon
April 8 – Edmonton, Alberta
April 9 – Calgary, Alberta
April 10 – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
April 29 – Raleigh, North Carolina
April 30 – Knoxville, Tennessee
May 1 – Greenville, South Caroline
May 6 – Fort Worth, Texas
May 7 – Wichita, Kansas
May 8 – Rogers, Arkansas
May 20 – Tulsa, Oklahoma
May 21 – Dallas, Texas
May 22 – Lafayette, Louisiana
June 3 – Brandon, Mississippi
June 4 – Orange Beach, Alabama
June 10 – Mt. Pleasant, Michigan
June 11 – Toronto, Ontario
June 18 – Gilford, New Hampshire
June 25 – Clarkston, Michigan
July 15 – Syracuse, New York
July 16 – Allentown, Pennsylvania
July 22 – Columbia, Maryland
July 23 – Bethel, New York
July 24 – Mansfield, Massachusetts
July 29 – Evansville, Indiana
July 30 – St. Louis, Missouri
July 31 – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
