Riley Green Credits His Quarterback Days for His Stage Confidence
The confidence Green built as a college quarterback has helped him in a whole new arena: the stage.
Photo Courtesy Riley Green
Riley Green has come a long way since his college days as the quarterback for Jacksonville State. Now, instead of dominating on the field, he’s dominating on stage and on the radio. While being a country superstar might seem completely different from being a star quarterback, Green admits there are definitely some similarities.
In an interview with his label, Green compared the two roles and said the confidence he brings to the stage every night goes back to the confidence he built on the football field.
“Being a quarterback, you’ve gotta have a certain level of confidence to go out there and lead the pack, I guess. And if you’re gonna get up on stage in front of people and sing about stuff you made up, you’ve gotta have some level of confidence then, too. You know what I mean,” he said.
“It’s one thing if you’re just an amazing singer and you’re singing a song you know everybody is gonna sing along to. But I had to go out there and win ‘em over with songs that I made up, and that’s a pretty scary thing for anybody, I’m sure. So, you know, definitely the confidence that playing team sports gives you, it definitely helped me out and helped me get to where I am now.”
To put it lightly, Riley Green is absolutely at the top of his game right now. The Alabama native recently scored his sixth No. 1 hit with “Don’t Mind If I Do” featuring Ella Langley and is about to kick off the biggest tour of his career yet with the Cowboy As It Gets Tour.
He started the year strong with the release of his new single, “Change My Mind,” which dives into the push and pull of trying to walk away from someone who still has a hold on you.
The song also earned Green the biggest first-week add date of his career, with 97 stations adding it in its first week.
Green recently performed at Luke Bryan’s Crash My Playa and will soon head to the land “Down Under” for a run of shows before returning to the states for Tortuga Music Festival and his headlining tour.
Riley Green Tour Dates:
March 13th, 2026 – Melbourne, Australia – Margaret Court Arena^+=
March 14th, 2026 – Melbourne, Australia^+=
March 16th, 2026 – Sydney, Australia – The Hordern Pavilion^+=
March 17th, 2026 – Sydney, Australia – The Hordern Pavilion^+=
March 20th, 2026 – Ipswich, Australia – CMC Rocks QLD^+=
April 11th, 2026 – Fort Lauderdale, FL – Tortuga Music Festival
April 16th, 2026 – Southaven, MS – Landers Center#~$
April 17th, 2026 – Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center#~$
April 18th, 2026 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena#~$
May 7th, 2026 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion#~•
May 8th, 2026 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre#~•
June 18th, 2026 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center#~•
June 19th, 2026 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center#~•
June 20th, 2026 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater#~•
June 25th, 2026 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center#$*
June 26th, 2026 – Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake#$*
July 16th, 2026 – Green Bay, WI – Resch Center#~•
July 23rd, 2026 – Salt Lake City, UT – Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre#~•
August 6th, 2026 – Darien Center, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater#/•
August 7th, 2026 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center#/•
August 8th, 2026 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live#/•
August 13th, 2026 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion#/•
August 14th, 2026 – Hartford, CT – The XFINITY Theatre#/•
August 15th, 2026 – Bangor, ME – Maine Savings Amphitheatre#/•
August 21st, 2026 – Sioux Falls, SD – Denny Sanford#$*^
August 22nd, 2026 – Grand Forks, ND – Ralph Engelstad Arena#$*
#Justin Moore
~Drake White
$Mackenzie Carpenter
Hannah McFarland
*Adam Hood
/Zach John King
^Braxton Keith
+Jake Worthington
=Bella Mackenzie
Lauren Jo Black, a University of Central Florida graduate, has immersed herself in the world of country music for over 15 years. In 2008, she co-founded CountryMusicIsLove, eventually selling it to a major record label in 2015. Following the rebranding of the website to Sounds Like Nashville, Black served as Editor-in-Chief for two and a half years. Currently, she assumes the role of Editor-in-Chief at Country Now and oversees Country Now’s content and digital footprint. Her extensive experience also encompasses her previous role as a Country Music Expert Writer for Answers.com and her work being featured on Forbes.com. She’s been spotlighted among Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. Black also spent time in front of the camera as host of Country Now Live, which brought live music directly to fans in 2021 when the majority of concerts were halted due to the pandemic. During this time, she hosted 24 weeks of live concerts via Country Now Live on Twitch with special guests such as Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Jordan Davis, Brett Young, and Jon Pardi. Over the course of her career, she has had the privilege of conducting interviews with some of the industry’s most prominent stars, including Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, and many others. Lauren Jo Black is a longtime member of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.
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