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When it comes to star power, there’s no doubt Riley Green has it. The multi-Platinum, ACM and CMA Award-winning singer-songwriter has taken the country music industry by storm since he splashed onto the scene with his self-titled EP in 2018. Since then, his star has continued to rise with hits like the No. 1 2X-Platinum “There Was T his Girl,” the 3X-Platinum “I Wish Grandpas Never Died,” and his chart-topping collab with Thomas Rhett, “Half Of Me,” to name a few. But for Green, it’s always been about just being himself; writing songs about his life, his experiences, and staying connected to the things that sparked his passion in the first place.
“When I was growing up, my granddaddy Buford was a big country music fan. He loved Roy Acuff, Merle Haggard, and George Jones, and he had an old Epiphone guitar sitting around the house, and when I was over at his place, that's kind of what we did. We sat around trying to play this guitar that neither one of us really knew how to play. My other granddaddy was a big outdoorsman; loved to fish, bird hunt, and all that, so we had our things we did together, and with my granddaddy Buford, it was country music, and that was kind of where it started for me,” Green explains.
As deep as the Alabama-native’s love of music goes, Green’s love of songwriting has always been a driving force in his career. In fact, it’s the one thing he felt could set him apart.
“When [music] went to a place where I tried to make something out of, it was with songwriting,” he says. “I played cover shows for a few years, and I realized quickly I wasn't the best singer or guitar player in the world. There were a lot of people better than me. When I started writing songs, that was kind of where I realized I could set myself apart from somebody, because I'm the only one that's gonna tell a story that I can tell. I've always loved writing songs.”
His honest, relatable songwriting is on full display on his recently released deluxe version of his acclaimed 2024 album Don’t Mind If I Do. Featuring six new songs, Green wrote or co-wrote a large portion of the tracks on the 24-song deluxe album (produced by Dann Huff). Lucky for fans, Green’s creative hot streak that made Don’t Mind If I Do such a massive success exceeded the number of songs on the original album, and he just couldn’t wait any longer to share them.
“I had these songs that I'd written, and Don't Mind If I Do had so much momentum, it’s like you want to just keep pouring gas on that fire,” Green says. “Creatively, when you're writing from a certain place, it doesn't really stop when the album comes out. I had these six songs that I really liked and didn't want to wait another year to put them out. I thought it really fell in line with the musical style of that album, and it just worked out great that we were able to put out some more music this year while we're still kind of riding the wave of that album coming out last October.”
The deluxe album is a continuation of the mix of songs that make Don’t Mind If I Do an album you can listen to time and time again, with a song to suit every mood. From emotional, reflective tracks like “Make It Rain” and “What Am I Supposed To Do Now,” to empowering boot stompers like “Cowboy As It Gets,” the newly added songs further cement Green’s status in country music as a heartfelt, home-grown storyteller, with range that captures an array of feelings.
“One thing I loved about Don't Mind If I Do is it has a lot of different types of songs. It's something where you can kind of ride around and cry, then you have something that makes you want to hold a beer up in the air, and then some of them that put you in a good mood. So, I tried to do a little bit more of that [on the deluxe],” says Green. “I grew up in the era of burnt CDs. You know, it would be like a Tupac song and then a Tim McGraw song. I know people don't necessarily listen to music the same way they did, front to back on an album, but I still appreciate that — that you can listen to it on a road trip, and it gets you to Panama City from Northeast Alabama, and you've had every emotion on the way.”
One of the things fans seem to gravitate towards most is Green’s ability to tell stories through his music that feel genuinely relatable. That’s because much of his inspiration really does come from his real life, and the places and experiences that shaped him.
“A lot of the ideas I write are definitely real-life inspired. I get a lot of inspiration from my farm back home in Alabama, and how I grew up down there. That's why I keep that place and why I go back so much. It's a lot easier for me to remember all those ideas and feelings that started the songwriting passion for me,” Green says. “When I write songs by myself, it's not really purposeful, it's really just because something hits me and I've kind of got it that day. I'm at the farm, or I'm at the house, or on the bus somewhere, in a green room somewhere, and I think those ideas are usually the ones I'm the most passionate about; the ones I'm like, ‘I can't wait to write this. I'm going to do it right now.’”
Authenticity is a common thread across Green’s entire catalog, and when it comes to achieving that, his approach is simple....
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