Today we’d like to introduce you to Hunter Riley.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I began my journey as a musician at the age of 14 in south Mississippi. By the age of 18 I had performed many live shows and studio sessions as a guitarist in my hometown area of Hattiesburg, MS. Soon after graduating high school an audition with a very popular rock group in Biloxi, MS would land me touring regionally and opening for many large international acts in 2013. These acts would be among global touring acts such as Papa Roach, Drowning Pool, In This Moment, Hellyeah, Escape The Fate, and many more.
After working with this group for a year or so I would leave my touring duty and fulfill another part of my musical creativity that I hadn’t got to dive into yet; being a singer and frontman. Having grown up in South Mississippi the majority of music I was exposed to was country from the 90s and early 2000s. Returning to my roots and playing country music would be credited to a move at age 20 to Odessa, TX. I had quite a unique opportunity to go to college on a music scholarship and work in the west Texas oilfields simultaneously. After playing every dive bar west Texas had to offer I would record and released my first single titled “Burn You Out” in 2017. This single would lead to the opportunity to radio play, perform, and music festivals and solidify my ability as not only a country artist but singer-songwriter, and producer.
After more years to come in the Texas Country scene, I would write and record my next single, “Got Me Drinkin’” which would go on to gain not only national radio play but international radio play through the Red Dirt markets and chart on Texas Country Charts even leading to a performance at the Texas Country Music Awards in 2019.
After a year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic and live performance restrictions, I spent the year re-inventing my image and sound. In 2021 I would record my first mainstream country single “Small Town Dream”. This single would go on to chart in the top 100 on Music Row Charts and gain a great deal of press and opportunity. The release of “Small Town Dream,” would launch my career to even higher heights of playing more music festivals, more radio play, Spotify plays greatly improving and even landing residency gigs from Texas to Nashville, TN.
Now with my residence being in Nashville, TN, a new EP with 5 new songs to be released, and a career ever more expanding, I look for 2023 to be my best year yet as a musician.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s never been a smooth road. Most of the time there wasn’t even a road or a path, just an idea of a direction of where to go. The rest was up to me to create the path and build the road. However, all the hard knocks and rough patches were only overcome with the support and help of family and friends.
My struggles were a lack of higher knowledge of the music industry. This took my time of gaining success even longer than if I would have had knowledge of how the industry worked as far as marketing, publishing, networking, etc. As a rambler playing music, there was never a home base established. This meant stints of couch surfing with family and friends for a few years on my journey.
There was also heartbreak, loss, and plenty of discouragement along the way. It’s very hard to maintain relationships when constantly traveling and always wanting to leave to chase the next big gig. It’s also not a lucrative lifestyle it is hard to build stable relationships. Also, not everyone will support your music or your vision. Before I landed a promotion deal on the radio I had been turned down by numerous promoters. And even after my songs made their way to the radio, many stations would not play my single because I was an independent artist or my sound didn’t fit their market. Art isn’t a competition BUT sales are. There are thousands of others doing this and you’re every day competing to rise above the rest to get your songs heard and your performances seen and sometimes you aren’t the winner of the contest.
Finally, after I had solidified myself as an artist and began to truly make a living, I got married and soon after getting married, my wife and I were to expect our first child. This happened during the time my latest single had run its course and now was the time to write and record more music. This was definitely a challenge as a new husband and now preparing to be a father. But nothing in life was worth having if it didn’t come with a challenge. Writing music, recording songs, playing shows, and coming home to rock a baby to sleep while running on a few hours of sleep can be quite a challenge BUT has made me that much stronger of a person and shown how much work really goes into what you love. So this one wasn’t as much of a struggle as it was a challenge.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a country music artist.
Aside from being a husband and a father, being an artist is what I’m most proud of.
I feel what sets me apart from others is I’m willing to go on the craziest path of work and dedication to reach my goal vs others. Absolutely nothing will stop me.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I have had WAY more mentors and supporters than I deserve.
The first is my wife. We met while my single “Small Town Dream” was running on its radio campaign and had just been on the air for about 5 weeks. From their early days of dating to being married she’s always shared my music, show dates, made appearances at shows, and always encourages me during the writing process I’ve never heard of someone’s wife 3 months after giving birth, telling her husband needs to move his family to Nashville to further his career and dream. I truly have someone that will follow me to the end of the earth.
My family hasn’t always agreed with my choices in music but has always supported me in my journey. From my grandparents buying me my first guitars and amps, to my parents coming to shows and funding studio time, to uncles building websites and helping on the digital end, siblings traveling cross country for shows, and even cousins being in my band, my family has been more than exceptional in my support team.
My friends have always been my support group even before my family was on board. They were the start of my inspiration. They were always 20x better musicians than me but pushed me to become better and helped along the way in writing, recording, performing, and promoting the music we created. I’ve had the same core group of friends helping me create music for over 10 years now. I’m forever in debt to them for the creative influence and growth they’ve given me.
Finally, my music mentors were hometown music legends Ricky Bullock, Stevie Sanford & Louie Munn. All were former Nashville Session musicians and touring acts who first gave me the inspiration to chase my dream and that music IS possible. Much love to all of them!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: www.Instagram.com/hunterrileyband
- Facebook: www.Facebook.com/hunterrileyband
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/hunterrileyband
