Riley Green On How Merle Haggard Sparked His Love For Country Music – “Took Me A Place I Had Never Mentally Been”

Would you have guessed that Riley Green's country career could have started just by listening to one Merle Haggard song? The "Jesus Saves" singer recently sat down with Apple Music to talk about his new project Don't Mind If I Do - his third studio album. Besides touching on he and Ella Langley's "You Look Like You Love Me" duet, the conversation mostly revolved around how the project came to be. Green hinted at that answer when he posted about his album's release last week: “It feels fitting that this album is out on my birthday because this project feels very true to who I am, where I come from and what I’ve learned along the way. I learned to play guitar to my granddaddy’s favorite country songs from back in the day and this new album is a throwback to the era when I first became a fan.” https://www.instagram.com/p/DBQJLqFuKVV/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=d01c4d1a-4347-4d8b-a2c5-043e57696049 That "first became a fan" part is important... It seems as though the 18-song track list of Don't Mind If I Do is heavily inspired by a lot of the music that Riley Green grew up listening to. The country star talked a lot about how all the different influences he was surrounded with as a kid helped shape the identity of his third studio album: "I grew up in the burnt CD era, so we had a lot of different type of music. It wasn't like a country CD. I had a sister that was 10 years older than me, she listened to Sublime and Weezer and Matchbox Twenty. My mom was like Fleetwood Mac and The Mamas and The Papas. My dad loved The Band... still one of my favorite groups, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Marshall Tucker Band. My grandaddy, Bufford, that was really where my big music passion came from. Like Roy Acuff and Merle Haggard and George Jones. So I listened to a lot of different music." And Riley distinctly remembers one particular Merle Haggard song that truly transformed him from a country music listener to a country music fan (and now, years later, a country music artist). Merle's 1967 hit "Sing Me Back Home" was one that really stuck with him: "I can remember one of the first songs I ever heard that made me really feel something from the lyrics was 'Sing Me Back Home' by Merle Haggard. It was talking about the guy in prison, wanting to hear one last song. Something about that... something I could never comprehend, but that was what the song did. It took me to a place I had never mentally been before." You can hear more about Merle Haggard's impact on Riley Green in the interview below: https://youtu.be/zzvzSQ9YTDU?si=ZtScQcE-Y7WGoz5A&t=154

Riley Green Tour Dates

March 27, 2025 - Abbotsford, BC - Abbotsford Centre March 28, 2025 - Kelowna, BC - Prospera Place March 30, 2025 - Regina, SK - Brandt Centre April 3, 2025 - Kingston, ON - Slush Puppie Place April 4, 2025 - Toronto, ON - Coca-Cola Coliseum April 5, 2025 - London, ON - Budweiser Gardens May 1, 2025 - Athens, GA - Akins Ford Arena May 9, 2025 - Lake Charles, LA - Lake Charles Event Center May 10, 2025 - Tupelo, MS - Cadence Bank Arena May 29, 2025 - Youngstown, OH - Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre May 30, 2025 - Cincinnati, OH - The Andrew J Brady Music Center May 31, 2025 - Detroit, MI - Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill June 12, 2025 - Baltimore, MD - Pier Six Pavilion June 13, 2025 - Wilmington, NC - Live Oak Bank Pavilion June 14, 2025 - Raleigh, NC - Coastal Credit Union Music Park June 19, 2025 - Franklin, TN - FirstBank Amphitheater June 21, 2025 - Huntington, WV - Marshall Health Network Arena July 24, 2025 - New York, NY - The Rooftop at Pier 17 July 25, 2025 - Boston, MA - MGM Music Hall at Fenway July 26, 2025 - Gilford, NH - BankNH Pavilion August 21, 2025 - Bonner, MT - KettleHouse Amphitheater August 22, 2025 - Idaho Falls, ID - Mountain America Center August 23, 2025 - Nampa, ID - Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater