Photos/Review: Riley Green 7.24.25 Rooftop @ Pier 17 NYC

Words & Photos by Keeyahtay Lewis

Even if you’re just a passive country music listener, you have probably heard “You Look Like You Love Me” by Ella Langley and Riley Green. The song was everywhere and the internet exploded with rumors of the two singers dating. The song has millions of streams and views, but much to the dismay of a lot of TikTok, it does not seem like the pair were ever more than just good friends. But Riley Green is on the
Damn Country Music tour, and he brought Langley along for the ride. On Thursday July 24 the tour made their stop at the epic Rooftop at Pier 17 in the Seaport district of NYC.

The show opened with Vincent Mason and Wyatt McCubbin. They did a great job of getting the crowd warmed up. Shortly after 7, Ella Langley took the stage and the sold out crowd erupted with cheers. She burst out on the stage with a twirl of hair, grabbed a tambourine, and her band ripped into one of, arguably, her biggest songs “If It Weren’t For The Wind”. 3300+ people sang along to every word. She
looked amazing in white boots and a white dress with fringe to match. And of course, her famous bangs.

Her set felt like someone who is ready to headline her next tour. In 50 minutes they played through 10 songs with Langley doing a great job of leading the band. Every song sounded like a hit- “Nicotine”, “Girl
You’re Taking Home”, “Hungover” – it seemed like she played all the songs the people were hoping for. She even threw in a Gretchen Wilson cover with “Here For The party”. It was all smiles from everyone on
stage- they seemed like they were genuinely having an incredible time playing. Her voice sounds fantastic live, and her band were right there with her- matching her energy beat for beat.

The crowd was at 100 by the time Riley Green came out and it just went up from there. He stepped out, all smiles, wearing a white hat, short sleeve button down, and probably the most famous mustache in country music. Green stepped to the mic and pulled a duck call out of his pocket and the audience produced a few of their own in response. Someone told me because Green is a duck hunter, this is something that happens at his shows. Definitely not something I expected, but a fun way to start the show. He tossed his duck call into the crowd and ripped into the tours’ title track, “Damn Country Music”.

Green is a charismatic performer and he had the crowd rolling with him the whole time. Tons of American flags and boots in the audience and his second song, “Different ‘Round Here” seemed tailored made for
this NYC audience. His set was a fun one and it seemed like everyone on stage were having a blast while the sun set around them. Halfway through, they did a Toby Keith medley: “Should’ve Been a Cowboy”, and “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue”. This was followed by a minute of “Crazy Train”, a nod to Ozzy who the world just lost. Shortly after though Green sat down on one of two stools with an acoustic guitar,
and Langley came back out to join them. You could feel everyone waiting for this moment.

There have always been rumors surrounding Green and Langley, the internet is trying to will them together. When you see them sing together it’s easy to see why- the chemistry. The way their voices
sound together. The looks back and forth- it was like seeing a Lifetime Movie come to life. They played “Don’t Mind if I do” and later on the huge hit, “You Look like You Love Me”. It felt like that was the song everyone was waiting for.

All in all, it was a gorgeous night in NYC. You don’t really think of the city having a lot of country fans, but the sold out crowd proved that the fans will put on their cut off jean shorts, boots, and hats when a country show comes to town.

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