Riley Green has been working on his country music career with effort, persistence, and determination, and now he's found success with There Was This Girl hitting #1 in both Canada and the United States.
Green made his first trip to Toronto on Thursday and stopped in at the Rock 'N' Horse Saloon to play a few songs for fans and country radio listeners. The stripped-down acoustic set showed off the emerging star's voice and southern charm as he and his guitar players all strummed along and sang from the small stage. Riley told the small crowd that he didn't know what to expect when he came up to Canada. He saw the big city as they flew in on Wednesday, and that's different than how he grew up. But, he added, being inside the bar was just like it is back home in small-town Alabama.
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Jacksonville, Alabama is a long way from Toronto, Ontario (about 950 miles), but we have the feeling he'll be making trips to a lot of cities that are far from home as his career heats up. His schedule is packed with shows all over the U.S. from now through the end of the summer. He'll open for Brad Paisley in front of big crowds of excited fans. And he'll have the chance to introduce himself as he releases more new music, leading up to his debut full-length album.
We caught up with Riley Green on Thursday evening for a short chat and a round of 5 Quick Questions. But before we get to that, check out the video for his first #1 single, There Was This Girl.
In our few minutes with Riley, we asked about his summer plans (touring is the main focus and will take up most of his time) and new music. He told us that the full album is finished, and now the plan on the rollout is to introduce new songs to radio and streaming services as a lead-in to the album release in the fall. After a string of EPs, he's excited to have a full album of songs coming in one package.
Hit play now for our round of 5 Quick Questions with Riley to find out which album he's reaching for on a road trip, who he'd love to duet with, which artist he recommends you start listening to.
Maddie Storvold, the winner of The Launch season two's fifth episode, opened the show for Riley with a quick set of her own. The enthusiastic and authentic singer-songwriter played three songs, including her single, Don't Say You Love Me, which received an excellent reaction from the early crowd.
Related: Don't Say You Love Me - Introducing Maddie Storvold from CTV's The Launch
We had a few minutes for a catch-up and hugs with Maddie before the show and talked about her tour across Ontario, visiting radio stations to promote her song, as well as the big news of her signing with Big Machine Label Group. She told us that it's been a lot to adjust to, having a team of people working with her, making the visits and playing her songs for country radio. And that she's learning more about this side of being an artist as she goes. When we asked about the interviews, Maddie told us that she's always trying to stay present, giving the hosts and listeners her attention and the best answers she can. We asked if there were questions that she's heard a lot on this run, and she told us that there have been two: 1) What was it like growing up in Dubai? 2) What was it like working with Bryan Adams?
We know that Maddie Storvold has been writing and working on new music, making a transition to country, and we're hoping that it won't be too long til we hear more from her and see her again.
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When Riley Green took the stage to play, the intimate Toronto crowd took a few steps closer to the stage and pulled their phones out to take photos and videos. The Alabama-turned-Nashville artist shared a handful of songs, including Bettin' Man, In Love By Now and There Was This Girl. And he finished off the short set with a medley of country favourites including Toby Keith's Should've Been A Cowboy and Billy Currington's Good Directions.
He was smooth, strong, and sounded like he's going to be a big star in country music.
We don't know when Riley Green is going to be back in Toronto again. But we can tell you right now that we'd bet it will be in front of a bigger crowd than the lucky few who saw him at the Rock 'N' Horse Saloon on Thursday night.
Check out Riley Green's brand new single and video, In Love By Now and stay tuned because there's a lot more coming from this emerging country music star.
