We all have those artists and songs we hear that strike the right chord and make us fall in love at first listen. They’re the reason we refresh social media pages, tour schedules, and Spotify profiles — because we can’t miss a single release. This is Love at First Listen — a series introducing you to the emerging, and established, artists with new music guaranteed to upgrade your playlist.

Whether headlining a show or touring with the likes of Kip Moore, Sacha, and Owen Riegling, Riley Taylor and his band approach every performance with the same attitude: be loud, proud, and always jam. With a 30-track debut album released earlier this month (April 18) fusing multiple influences and narratives, that’s an easy—and extremely fun—task. ‘Story to Tell,’ out now on Honky Tonk Record Co, is primed to fill every country playlist with its blend of bar songs, country storytelling, and celebrations of life, love, and everything in between. Soon, you will catch Riley on his Small Town Hometowns acoustic tour across Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Ontario or opening for Cooper Alan. Don’t see your city? More dates are already in the works (details on that below!).

Just before hitting the stage at his packed album release show at Rivoli in Toronto, Riley dished on making his album as relatable as possible, calming down to the sounds of Matchbox Twenty, and returning to play his favourite festivals.

With 30 tracks and an hour and 44-minute runtime, there are certainly multiple stories to be told on ‘Story to Tell.’ Can you describe the process of pulling these 30 tracks and stories together?

Especially with it being a debut album, [I] kind of have my whole life to choose from as far as what we want to focus on [with life] moments [and] certain things. I think we chose pretty well a lot of things that would encompass what has made me who I am today. And I think as far as what I would be curious to know from the fans’ perspective is, which one of these songs relate[s] to your story? I think we wanted to make a lot of it as relatable as possible.

With this album release show being your first big headlining performance and celebration of the project, are there any tracks you’re especially excited to share with fans live?

The first one that always comes to mind is “Fucked Up.” My grandmother wasn’t very happy with that title, but that one really stands out to me because I’m proud of it as a songwriter. It comes from a dark place, but there is a sense of optimism about it. And I think it translates well because I also think everybody’s felt at least some of what’s in there at one point or another. Outside of that, I adore “Off the Liquor.” It’s just a big, loud, fun energy song. I also like a lot of the old, more traditional sounding stuff that we recorded too. That was all done in an old school way with live recordings off the floor and it was a cool process.

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Boots and Hearts Music Festival plays a big part in your story, with you winning their Emerging Artist Showcase in 2021. How did it propel you to go all in on music, ultimately bringing us here today?

Yeah, that was a really crazy, validating point where I wasn’t sure I could do this or if it was worth pursuing because I didn’t feel good enough. So, it meant a lot to me, and it was very eye-opening in the fact that these people know [the industry] and they thought there was something there. So, I’m still trying to find “it,” and I kind of hope I never do. I hope I’m always kind of chasing whatever that is.

When you talk about sources of validation like that, what is one of the best pieces of advice that you’ve received along your musical journey that you can pass along to the next gen of artists?

Just keep your head up and be kind. It doesn’t cost anything, and in this business, there are not a lot of things that don’t cost anything. And ironically, that tends to lead to more opportunities than not. Some people will throw you a bone just based on the fact they like you. So, I think that’s really important, along with just caring about the craft of it—putting your time into your songs and making sure that you know your stuff. And try to have fun along the way.

You first released one of the tracks on ‘Story to Tell,’ “Good Things,” as part of the Boots and Hearts contest, but have since reimagined it with more drawl and personality. What inspired you to revisit and revamp it?

I’m glad you asked that. I don’t want to be misunderstood—I didn’t redo it because I hated the original. I still love the original, and it will always be special to me. I just always wondered [how it would sound] if we had a different style of production that was more twangy and rootsy. The first time we tackled it, the song had more of a pop production. I’ll always love the original, but the way we redid it made it easier to deliver live as well. It almost sounds like it’s live in the recording. That’s what I wanted to re-imagine, while keeping it true to the original.

On the album, you also cover three songs: The Rolling Stones’ “Dead Flowers,” Matchbox Twenty’s “3AM,” and Live’s “Lightning Crashes.” What about each of those songs resonates with you and led to them needing to be part of this project?

All three of those songs were just clear [studio] cuts. We played around with a few, but “3AM” was probably the one that’s nearest and dearest to me. Growing up in Alberta, my mom had this Matchbox Twenty CD, and I was a colicky baby. So, I don’t remember, but allegedly whenever “3AM” would come on, no matter if I was in a fit or if I was being bad or a little brat, I’d go right to sleep. When I got older and I started playing [music], I was looking at easy three-chord songs to play on guitar and that one came up, and I knew all the words. I was pumped up because it was the first one that I could play and sing at the same time, so I was like, “Mom, you’ve got to check this out!” She was blown away because I didn’t know that story about when I was a baby.

The other two, to be honest with you, are songs that I just love inexplicably. Something about them is so cool, and they just make me feel a certain way. So, when we were looking at songs that would be cool to cover, they stood out. They’re also songs that I think are undervalued nowadays. It’s a fun way to recirculate them.

With this series being about the music we love at first listen, who are some of your Canadian country peers whose songs you’ve loved at first listen?

Love at first listen for me… there are so many, but “Do It Anyway” by Jade Eagleson, “Home Less” by Owen Riegling, and “Pillow Talkin’” by Tyler Joe Miller.

Riley’s newest single “Hometowns” is quickly rising on the country radio charts with airplay across Canada and major looks on streaming services.

As the summer concert and festival season fast approaches, do you have any live shows or festival performances that you can tease?

We were just looking into getting the festival season booked up. This May, I’m going to be doing an acoustic tour across Alberta. We’re calling it the Small Town Hometowns tour and it’s going to be more of a stripped back, almost singer-songwritery atmosphere where I’ll get the chance to explain how each song came to be. The goal is to get introduced to those fans and say, “If you like this, maybe I’ll be back with a big band.” There’s one festival back home that I’m doing—FundyFest in Sussex, New Brunswick—and that’s always been one of my favourite places to play. It’s always been the most responsive crowd. Then, I’m heading back to Cavendish Beach Music Festival in Prince Edward Island for the kickoff party the night before the festival starts. There are a couple others that we’re in the middle of booking right now. My message is if you like what’s going on, you like the sound, and you want me to come to your town, reach out. We’re always looking to see where the fans are and gauge where we should go to next.