Riley Green will be the opening act for the first evening of the 29th annual Riverfest.
The Chamber, Gadsden-Etowah County, announced the Jacksonville native as the first confirmed artist to perform for the upcoming music festival.
Green will take the stage at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 13. The Chamber will make announcements about the rest of the Riverfest 2014 lineup – providing two full evenings of music, as performers are confirmed.
Green started playing guitar at age 10 and started writing music when he was 14. He wrote his first song in 2007. His early works, “Escalade,” “Dream Girl,” and “Sandy Beaches,” were inspired by a young man’s quest to get girls.
One of Green’s most inspiring songs, “God was in Bama This Year,” was written about his experiences and observations following the April 27, 2011 tornadoes that ravaged Alabama. Many people identified with the song and Green performed in at home dedications and memorial services in the years after the tornadoes.
Green spent many days and nights playing guitar and singing with his grandfather, Bufford Green, who opened a music hall in 2003. He taught Green a love for old traditional country, blue grass and gospel music. Green performed at the Golden Saw Music Hall with his grandfather and other men of his generation, performing songs like “Wreck on the Highway,” and “Precious Jewel,” by Roy Acuff.
Green wrote “Line in the Water” about fishing with his grandfather.
Many of Green’s songs are described as reflections on the experiences of a southern boy finding his place in the world.
For the past two years, Green has played a variety of venues, including locations in Jacksonville, Gadsden, Centre, Birmingham, Auburn, Tuscaloosa, Gulf Shores, Panama City and Nashville.
In addition to his musical pursuits, Green was a three sport athlete in high school, a walk-on quarterback at Jacksonville State University, and a serious outdoorsman who enjoys duck and turkey hunting.