Payton Riley Continues Riding The Wave in 2024

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, TX -- The Montgomery County singing sensation that is making waves across the nation and beyond, Payton Riley, 16, continues to rack up achievements. She is experimenting with new music; and in the new year will be adding stamps to her passport, as she is scheduled to travel to the UK and beyond on a short, north European Road Trip with singers from the UK, Scotland, Ireland, along with a cadre of American country singers, including Willis product Payton Howie. The young singer did get her drivers license, but with being on the road with her career, she doesn’t get much time to actually get behind the wheel of a car. Since Riley’s appearance on national television early in the year, Payton has gone on to win a national award and repeat as the best young singer in Texas. The sky is truly the limit with Payton, and with her attitude, there is no stopping her.

Riley has long been a local singing fixture at many establishments in Montgomery and surrounding counties with some performances in other parts of Texas, and Nashville; but plans for next year include widening her footprint with more shows outside the Southeast region of Texas, which is the next logical step in her young career. Some might call it baby steps, but truly with her accomplishments already, many with a multi-decades career in music would be more than thrilled with the equivalent deeds she has achieved. And before you know it, Payton’s three year call-back to American Idol will be waiting in the wings.

“I’ve started my band, and we’ve played a lot of shows this year,” said Payton. “I’ve lost count, but we’d done over one-hundred three hour shows in 2024 from last count.”

Last month, Riley, marched into the Nashville Holy of Holies of Country Music, the iconic Grand Ole Opry, confident yet humble, under consideration for a national honor, a Josie Award, for the Young Artist of the Year Award in the Young Adult Female category. She was up against fourteen nominees, a daunting task when you look at the amazing young talent that Our Nation is able to produce. In receiving the award, Payton stood where all the greats in country music had trod. She gave a speech off the top of her head. Nothing was prepared, but when feeling with heartfelt emotions, it's easy to speak of thanks for God, family, and to all of those who got you to this point of greatness.

“Stepping into the famous circle on the Grand Ole Opry Stage has been a dream of mine,” said Riley. “But I want to be singing in that circle the next time I stand in it.”

A few weeks after Nashville, Payton was back at Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth, up for another item to add to her trophy case. The Texas Country Music Association’s Young Artist of the Year. She won the award in 2023, being the youngest artist ever to win the honor, and repeated the same feat in 2024, which is hard enough to do one time.

When time allows, Payton volunteers with Love Heals Youth, a local organization that provides free counseling, welcome bags, clothing, and other essential services for foster children. She also did a video for another charity helping kids out of state.

Payton continues to write her songs, even taking part as a mentor in a Young Artist Songwriting Retreat, which took place this past October in supporting new artists in their writing. She even wrote a Christmas song, ‘Jingle Jangle Jolly,’ for this holiday season, which has been released to radio, so be sure to call in to hear it.

“I wanted to write a song about how Texans feel about Christmas,” said Payton. “I feel a lot of love is shared at Christmas, and I want my fans to remember those we can’t be with on the holiday.”

With her next release ‘Weatherboy’, scheduled for February 14th, she will have a release party at Dosey Doe Breakfast, BBQ & Whiskey Bar on February 13th in The Woodlands. Her confidence that her music will be a hit is palpable. And despite the passing of film producer +Bob Gunner, it appears his film project, ‘An Almost Perfect Day,’ will survive, and is still in the works for 2025, after her European road trip.

“I’m super excited about the music I’m dropping in 2025!” said Riley, looking for a more country-rock feel to her work. “The tracks that are 100% me, and I’ve really shaped how they sound in the studio.”

For the latest updates and ticket information on Payton Riley, visit www.paytonrileymusic.com or follow her on social media at Payton Riley Music.

Photos