Riley Green spends a lot of the year on the road. But when it comes to Thanksgiving, the Alabama native will always be home with his loved ones.

“Thanksgiving is definitely a big family gathering for us,” Green reveals. “It’s something I look forward to. My grandmothers were amazing cooks. My grandmother Nancy was chicken and dumplings and dressing, and my grandmother Jean made the best biscuits and gravy, and everybody kind of came together.”

When Green does go home for the holidays, it is a true family affair, with all of his relatives coming together.

“Something that I came to find out is, both sets of my grandparents grew up in the same town, like a mile or two apart,” Green says. “So, [my] great great-grandmother was alive for most of my life, both sets of my grandparents for most of my life. So, I had aunts and uncles on both sides and cousins, so it’s a big get-together. And we really do that very often. Birthdays, any time we have an excuse to get together, we all do.”

Riley Green Looks Ahead After His Recent 3 CMA Awards Wins

@everythingnash @Riley Green is excited about his future in country music, after winning 3 #cmaawards with @Ella Langley. #cmaawards #countrymusic #rileygreen #ellalangley ♬ original sound – EverythingNash

 

Green recently won three CMA Awards, for Video of the Year, Single of the Year, and Song of the Year, all for his “You Look Like You Love Me” collaboration with Ella Langley. For Green, who also won the CMA Award in 2024 for Musical Event of the Year wth Langley, also for “You Look Like You Love Me,” the success only motivates him to work harder than ever before.

“It’s a crazy thing. I can honestly say I never thought I’d have a song on radio, or a record deal,” Green said backstage after his multiple wins. “It still feels crazy to get to come to these things. It really does. And to get to see all of the performers, and all these people that I’m a huge fan of. To get the recognition we got tonight is a really big deal. And probably more than anything, it’s motivating. Makes you want to keep playing 100-plus shows a year, and write as many songs as you can, and keep putting out music. Because something’s working, and I don’t know what it is, but I’m gonna do as much of it as I can.”

Riley Green’s Surprise Over the Success of “You Look Like You Love Me”

Green knew when he and Langley wrote “You Look Like You Love Me” with Aaron Raitiere that it was something special. But he admits he could never have predicted how successful that song would become.

“Ella may have known it was a hit, but I sure didn’t,” Green acknowledged. “I thought talking verses was a little too traditional. I thought it was a cool thing. I thought the chorus was catchy. It stayed in your head. We played it on the road, and it became a thing. You couldn’t open your phone without hearing it. It became a radio hit. ‘Don’t Mind If I Do’ was kind of the same way. I had no idea it was going to be that. So I got to watch fans’ excitement when Ella would come out on stage, when we were on tour together, and we would do those songs.

“It doesn’t happen much, to have two artists to have two really big songs together, while they’re touring together,” he adds. “We got to do that for the better part of two years. So, definitely, fans have ownership in this, because they made those songs.”