Riley Green brought a slice of the South to Melbourne last night, delivering a stacked set of country hits, throwback covers and surprise guests that turned the arena into one giant singalong.
Kicking off the Australian leg of his Cowboy As It Gets Tour, Green leaned hard into the crowd favourites early, kicking things off with Different ‘Round Here before rolling through fan staples like There Was This Girl, Damn Good Day to Leave, and Worst Way.
The energy was high throughout with a mix of radio hits, country classics and a few curveballs along the way.
Those curveballs came in the form of covers that had the Melbourne crowd fully dialled in. Green tipped his hat to country heavyweights with versions of In Color by Jamey Johnson and Should've Been a Cowboy by Toby Keith, while also slipping in a crowd-pleasing take on Where Corn Don’t Grow by Waylon Jennings which he got Jake Worthington up for.
One of the biggest moments of the night came when Australian rising star Bella Mackenzie joined Green onstage for an acoustic performance of Don’t Mind If I Do bringing a stripped back breather before the show ramped back up again.
But the real surprise came when Randy Houser walked out to join Green mid-set. Houser has been in Melbourne with his wife for the weekend’s Australian Grand Prix festivities, but clearly couldn’t resist jumping onstage. The pair teamed up for Green’s Cowboy As It Gets, before flipping the script for a powerful performance of Houser’s own hit Like a Cowboy, a moment that had the crowd roaring.
Green closed the night with an emotional encore performance of I Wish Grandpas Never Died before having all the night’s special guests - Houser, Braxton Keith, Worthington and Mackenzie - pile onto the stage together for a rowdy singalong of Dixieland Delight by Alabama.
It was loud, loose and exactly the kind of ending Melbourne came for.
RILEY GREEN
MELBOURNE SETLIST
Different 'Round Here
If It Wasn't for Trucks
Damn Good Day to Leave
Half of Me
In Color (Jamey Johnson cover)
Hell of a Way to Go
Rather Be
When She Comes Home Tonight
You Look Like You Love Me
Make It Rain
Where Corn Don’t Grow (Waylon Jennings cover) (with Jake Worthington)
There Was This Girl
Cowboy As It Gets (with Randy Houser)
Like a Cowboy (Randy Houser cover) (with Randy Houser)
Should've Been a Cowboy (Toby Keith cover) (with Randy House and Braxton Keith)
Jesus Saves (Acoustic)
Don't Mind If I Do (with Bella Mackenzie) (Acoustic)
Change My Mind
Worst Way
Encore
I Wish Grandpas Never Died
Dixieland Delight (Alabama cover)
Countrytown brings you Australia’s best country music news, interviews, charts and more every week! This post was authored by Countrytown and originally published on the Countrytown website. It has been re-published with permission.
