Chattanooga Times Free Press - ChattanoogaNow
WEDNESDAY
Riley Green will be featured in US101’s Concert for a Cause at Walker Theatre inside Memorial Auditorium Memorial
Riley Green was raised on the sounds of traditional country, bluegrass and Southern gospel music growing up in Alabama.
He learned songwriting and performing at a young age while spending time with his grand- father, Bufford Green, who ran Golden Saw Music Hall. Time spent onstage with his grandfather laid a foundation for the songs he’d craft in years to come, reflecting on the experiences of a young Southern man trying to find his place in the world.
With a mixture of outlaw rebellion and respect for t radition, Green’s music has tallied more than 51 million streams to date. His fan base on social media has grown thanks to relentless touring around the Southeast for the past five years.
On Wednesday, Jan. 9, Green stops in Walker Theatre to perform for WUSY 101’s Concert for a Cause. This artist showcase will double as a benefit for Siskin Children’s Institute. It’s an acoustic concert that will last between an hour and 90 minutes.
Melissa Turner, WUSY on- air personality and music director, says that Green has a strong local following already.
“He did a show at The Signal a year or so ago, and it was basically a sell-out before he even had a lot of radio play. Riley has a pretty big local following since he’s from Alabama. His song, ‘There Was This Girl,’ is pretty rocking,” she says.
“There Was This Girl” reached No. 18 on the country airplay chart. It’s currently No. 22 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.
Named one of Rolling Stone Country’s “Artists You Need to Know,” Green’s 2018 EP “In a Truck Right Now” features four songs he co-wrote: “There Was This Girl,” “Same Old Song,” “Break Up More Often,” and “In a Truck Right Now.”
Before he was a recording artist, Green found success on reality television. He was a contestant on Season 4 of CMT’s “Redneck Island” — a short stint that saw him booted off in the second episode. But he came back for an alumni battle in Season 5, “Battle at the Lake,” which he won among male contestants.