“That was one of the first things we did together was go fishing in his lake…”
Luke Bryan, Riley Green; Photo Courtesy Riley Green on Instagram
Riley Green recalls how a day of fishing with Luke Bryan led to a collaboration on his latest album.
Green’s 2024 release, Don’t Mind If I Do, includes two duets, one being the title track with Ella Langley and the other, a playful ode to fishing titled “Reel Problems,” featuring Luke Bryan.
During a conversation with his record label, Green reflected on how a fishing trip with Bryan led to the collaboration.
“That was one of the first things we did together was go fishing in his lake, you know, down south in Nashville,” Green revealed. We had a great time. He’s such an easy dude to hang out with, you know, and him growing up in Georgia, I mean, we grew up the same way, so we immediately hit it off.”
Written by Green alongside Erik Dylan and Wyatt McCubbin, “Reel Problems” is a clever play on words, swapping “real” for “reel,” and finds the pair singing about one of their favorite pastimes.
“When you have a song like ‘Reel Problems,’ the title, you think how hasn’t it already been a song. I had the title written down in my phone, knew exactly what the song was,” Green previously admitted.. “It was just such an easy song to write. It’s a fun song. You know, I write a lot of songs that are a little more serious and try to draw emotions and this is just one that was a lighthearted idea. The play on ‘real’ for ‘rod and reel’ was pretty easy for me.”
Reflecting on how Bryan ended up on the track, Green added, “And probably that fishing trip is why he was the first person I sent this song to when I wrote it, knowin’ his passion for that and also the type of music that he likes, and touring with him. Those relationships are how these things happen. It’s always really organic and just through friendships.”
Instead of going through traditional industry channels, Green said he went directly to the source, texting Bryan himself with his request.
“I sent him a text and features like that are probably supposed to go through labels and management, but I just texted him and it worked out,” Green stated.
