The country singer inspired by Taylor Swift and Glasgow

For country music singer Riley, this weekend is her chance to showcase her “country-pop” sound in her hometown.

The Glasgow-born musician is performing at the Country 2 Country (C2C) music festival, which is taking place in Glasgow, London and Belfast.

Ahead of her performance in at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, she told BBC Scotland News how the city of her birth inspires her music.

And she revealed that her musical hero, Taylor Swift, has inspired her in the business-side of the music industry.

“I’ve learned so much from Taylor. She’s probably one of the smartest businesswomen I’ve ever seen,” Riley says.

Swift is famously re-recording six albums after her former music manager Scooter Braun gained control of the master recordings.

She has said she saw it as a an act of aggression that “stripped me of my life’s work”.

Riley said Swift’s experiences showed her the importance of keeping the rights to her songs and gave her the confidence to explore other genres of music.

“You’re naïve when you’re younger,” says Riley, who was 11 when she was introduced to Swift’s music by a school friend, inspiring her to write her own songs.

“You think ‘I’ll write the songs, I’ll wear the dresses, I’ll play on the stages and somebody else will handle the business aspect of things’ but actually Taylor has shown me that’s not the case.”

Following Swift’s example, Riley worked hard and saved to produce her own music “song by song, one by one”, while retaining the rights to them.

Since starting her career at age 17, Riley has toured with fellow Scottish artists ili and Tide Lines.

Recent trips to Nashville to collaborate and meet others in the industry have helped develop her career and the confidence to stay as an independent artist until the time is right.

“I used to hate the thought of being independent. It had a stigma attached that they’re not good enough to get signed or they won’t be able to do it,” she says.

“When I realised what that word meant – that you don’t need anyone and can accomplish things by yourself – I look back at my music that I’ve saved up song by song to produce, it was a ton of work but it’s so worth it to see people listen to those songs.”

Riley’s passion for music began after being introduced to artists like James Taylor and Joni Mitchell by her dad. Her grandmother gave her a book of poetry, leading her to write her own “poems to a tune”.

Like many teenagers, Riley enjoyed attending concerts but felt something different when she saw country artists perform.

“These country music gigs absolutely blew me away,” she says.

“It had a hold on me and it made me realise I wanted to do that myself.”

Riley soon began to appreciate other country music artists – Ella Langley, Megan Moroney, Carter Faith and – to her, “the Queen of everything”- Kelsea Ballerini.

Funding from charity Help Musicians was the key that allowed Riley to visit the country music city of Nashville and work on her new EP.

The EP even has nods to her hometown, mentioning Glasgow streets as well as a song dedicated to Maggie’s Rock n Rodeo, a popular venue for country music fans.

“My song writing inspiration absolutely comes mixed from Glasgow and Nashville,” she says.

“Glasgow feels a lot like Nashville to me.

“When I got to Nashville the first time, I phoned my mum and she asked how it was. I said it literally feels just like home.”

Riley is performing at King Tut’s as part of the Country to Country festival on Sunday 16 March.