Riley’s music dances in the realm of contradiction, it’s not just happy, and not just sad. It’s daring to provoke, but accepting of all. Melodic but percussive, joyful yet mournfully critical, and always unapologetically groovy. He is an artist who explores the complexity of human existence.

Riley’s musical journey is now marked by extensive training. He’s proficient in classical, jazz, and self-taught modern guitar, and I’ve received years of vocal and piano training. His repertoire extends to acoustic and electric guitar, bass, piano, synth, drums, uke, mandolin, and vocals. He is a composer, a producer, a mixer, and, above all, a storyteller through sound.

But his journey as a musician began the day he was physically big enough to hold a guitar. For his second birthday he got a First Act mini guitar from his two moms. He *thought* he was amazing. He plunked out Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (which is a very generous analysis) and “made up” all kinds of songs. When he was 3 years old some friends of his mothers got married and they asked him to play “All You Need Is Love” by the Beatles at their wedding reception. He passionately sang and plunked away – no chords mind you – but from that day on, He saw himself as a musician. He’s gotten better since then by the way, but that passion is still there.  

Riley has been composing and playing instruments since childhood, honing his skills over the years. He’s also been a passionate advocate for equal rights. He has delivered speeches at the Utah Capitol on LGBTQ+ family issues including queer adoption and marriage. Queer issues live close to Riley’s heart because he was raised by two loving moms. This commitment to social justice is undeniably connected to Riley’s music, He strives to address pressing issues through evoking a sound reminiscent of old civil rights singers. His causes include climate action, wealth redistribution to the working family, LGBTQ+ inclusion, marijuana legalization, trans and women’s rights, and mental health, healthcare, and criminal justice reform. Because he is a person in this world deeply committed to these causes, his music reflects on all of these issues. His music does not always directly talk about this, it’s an underlying theme, it’s ever present in his psyche.

He has faced challenges, including navigating educational institutions as a creative individual with ADHD. He embraced his individuality, doing what he wanted like theater, and wearing what he pleased in an act of nonconformity. This led to bullying and social isolation, but it also strengthened his resolve to be true to himself and use his art to promote acceptance and diversity.

People have told Riley that his music sounds like it belongs on the radio. Others have said that they can really “feel” his music. If you ask him if he can play a pop song, he can learn it in 5 minutes or less. Right now he has written more than 20 of his own songs and can play about half of the jazz standards. He also knows a bunch of old country music songs because they’re his grandpa’s favorites.

He helped produce and a song for an artist named Zoe Stroupe. It’s called “Colorado Bruise” and is available on all streaming platforms. Riley has performed with the University of Utah Youth Theatre Conservatory and with the UU Electroacoustic Music Ensemble. He has performed locally in Salt Lake City at the Loading Dock, Liquid Joes, Kilby Court (opening for Buppy and Rowen Kenney), and at the Beehive. He can be found on TikTok and Instagram as “Rileysmedia".

Riley has also taken courses at the University of Utah including Sociology of Rock and Roll and Inequality Through Music and Film – and these courses helped him become much more cognizant of white people and white men specifically taking and appropriating for commercial gain the musical material of marginalized groups (especially black culture) so he is always working to be cognizant of systems of race and making sure he doesn’t misappropriate while using his privilege as a white person to interrupt racism where he encounters it.

The outdoor wilderness in Utah captures Riley’s imagination. His best thinking, writing, and existing takes place away from city life – away from people – and away from the obligations of being an adult. Whether he is hiking, climbing, meditating, songwriting, drawing or just breathing in the mountain air, time in the Uintah mountains makes him feel most grounded in himself – and in his music.

Who is his audience? Maybe it is you. Do you like stories? Songs are stories with a beat. The beat to Riley represents a timeline. A deadline. The injustices of our age, the inequalities that fester, the voices that are silenced, and our very own mother. The planet which humans have set on path to destruction—they demand a response that is resolute, unyielding, and unequivocal! This music, this lamentation, this meditation on life’s complexity—This music is a call to action, a call to rise against the tide of apathy and indifference that threatens to engulf us all. His music is a safe place to finally, after facing everything aforementioned, feel. Feel with others who perhaps feel the same. Or maybe they don’t but they see the beauty in gathering and enjoying some music with their fellow humans. Let this music serve not as a backdrop but as a heartbeat of change that is needed and is happening all around.