Transcript

Introduction

[0:00] Hello, friends. Welcome to another episode of Tell Us a Good Story.
Imagine being 15 years old and getting signed to be the youngest artist for a record label in Nashville.
And then you start touring professionally as a singer-songwriter before even graduating high school.
Well, that’s exactly what happened with our next guest, Riley Clemons.
You guys, this beautiful, talented young woman was actually discovered at her school play in Nashville.
And by the time she was 18 years old, she was on the road touring without her parents or her family.
Gosh, talk about having to grow up fast. But now, Kevin, at the age of 24, she’s considered a veteran in the music industry and has over a half a billion global streams from her music.
And she has some fun stories to share, including what it’s like to tour with Zach Williams, singing at the Grand Ole Opry, and the time she was proposed to at a concert by a fan.
You guys, we can’t wait for you to hear this episode with Nashville recording artist Riley Clements.
I’m Kevin. And I’m Stephanie. And during our marriage, we have dealt with an electrocution, a brain tumor, brain surgery.
Then doctors telling us that children were not in our future, followed by miscarriage, and then Kevin’s cancer diagnosis.
However, today, we live a life completely healed and restored with three healthy children who doctors said were not possible.
And we’re here to tell stories that inspire, give hope, and brighten your day.

Setting the Stage

[1:19] Welcome to… Tell Us a Good Story.

Pre-Episode Reminder

[1:24] Okay, friends, before we get to this episode, just a friendly reminder to please hit the subscribe button on YouTube and Apple podcast or give us a review. Five stars, please.
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Yes. So, hey, if you want us to keep working our way up to talking to Chip and Joanna, Joanna, please share us with your friends.
But regardless, thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story.

Nashville Roots

[1:57] She’s so cute. She’s so freaking cute, Kevin. We’ve been excited about this. I’m excited.
Absolutely. Well, friends, our next guest is a musician, singer, and songwriter from Nashville who first entered the music industry at the age of 15.
By age 23, she accumulated over half a billion global streams, 85 million YouTube views, and last year released her third studio album titled Church Pew.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to Tell Us a Good Story, Miss Riley Clemons. Riley Clemons!
Hi, guys! I’m so excited to be here. Thanks for the intro, y’all. That’s neat.
Y’all, she’s Nashville, isn’t she?

[2:35] Every now and then it pops out. It’s always on certain words.
It’s because I grew up in the city.
Because Nashville is a big city. Yeah. And lots of people in Nashville are not from here.
So it’s like this weird hybrid mix of accent.

[2:51] Well, thank you for saying yes to us. And the first thing is, when you release a song, an album, are you constantly on your phone just hitting refresh, refresh, refresh?
Because that’s what I would do. Oh, my gosh, yes. I know how I am with fantasy football and having to update my points.
So how is it opening weekend for you, Riley? Is it constantly on your phone?
Yeah, I mean, it is. I’m on my phone a lot when I release music.
But with that being said, I’ve also dialed it back the longer that I’ve done this.
I would say the whole goal of being in this weird career space is finding healthy boundaries. Okay.
So, you know, being able to look and read the comments, but no one to stop.

[3:35] But I’ve gotten a lot better at, hey, mom, dad, brother, sister, send me the good stuff.
And if there’s anything bad, don’t send it.
When you hit your first like million views, what was going through your mind?
Oh, I don’t even remember.
I think looking back at hitting that first million views, at least for me, there was a bit of this imposter syndrome. Like, why? How?
A million people. I think hitting that mile mark, there’s this certain feeling of that’s a million people. If there were a million people in this room staring at me, I would be so overwhelmed.
So being able to view it like, oh, it’s actually pretty cool.
I can celebrate that win. For sure.
Okay, you go to an awards ceremony.

[4:26] Do you have a stylist? Are you looking on Amazon at their dresses?
Are you going to a store to find your dresses? It has to be tough. How are you doing this?
Oh, good question. I have an incredible, well, it’s been a mixture.
My first ever awards anything.

[4:42] I went in Forever 21 and I, you know, grabbed whatever I could find.

[4:48] And now I have the opportunity to work with my stylist, who’s also one of my best friends in the world, which makes it so much more fun.
But I love putting together looks. I really enjoy the process.
So normally it’s my stylist pulling things or me pulling things or my mom screenshotting me things and sending them or my sister. It’s very collaborative.
It’s really fun. I’ve leaned into it for sure. That first award show that you showed up in like your Forever 21 dress, were you intimidated when all these other women are in these like expensive gowns?
You know i was a teenager at the time so i think it was one of those things where i was just like be cool be cool and i also grew up in a household where we would pop over to tj max and try to find the cheapest thing we could find that was good so it was in the wheelhouse right it was nothing outside of my comfort zone so i was fine okay so when you go to your first award show and like you you said maybe have imposter syndrome.
What is it like? Are you meeting your celebrity heroes?
How does that work when you’re there in person? Rightly?
Oh, we’re going to have some family talk and family talk is my way of saying this is just real talk.
Okay. Um, award shows make me a nervous wreck.
I bet. Um, I have always had an interesting relationship with award shows.

[6:16] They’ve been known to give me a lot of anxiety. Um, I think the honest way to say it is you’re in a space and, you know, celebrating your peers, which is a beautiful thing.
But the human in you is also there wanting to win, you know, wanting to have friends just like you’re in high school, you know.
So my relationship with the Warchose has changed over the past couple of years to become a bit healthier and be able to really look at them as what they are and not celebrating peers and celebrating music.
But, yeah, they’re very nerve wracking.
Lots of anxiety lots of social anxiety it’s a lot it’s a lot of stimulus lots of things to look at and see and yeah it’s hard to relax it really is so you’ve mentioned high school a couple of times i’m curious high school in nashville are you guys doing math science and songwriting songwriting yes your curriculum what are you guys doing or it’s like so many of your like classmates classmates, songwriters, and singers.
You’re all performers. Yes. How does that work?
Oh, man. Well, I went to a super sports-heavy school. So there were a lot of people doing sports and a lot of people doing academics as well.

[7:27] No, there was not a songwriting class per se, but I was really involved in the arts throughout high school.
And one of my best experiences in high school was the vocal group I was in.
So lots of acapella stuff, vocal things, And I would learn a ton in that class about reading music and singing with proper pitch and intonation and singing in a group and singing harmonies.
And I was also doing theater and dance. So I was doing a lot of normal high school arts things.
But I was also after school in the studio all the time learning how to write, learning how to co-write. I would just sneak off in my uniform after school and go to the studio, which is a very unique experience.
With her talking about being like a sports school. Yeah. Can you imagine going to watch a game there in Nashville? Yeah.
And Riley comes out with a friend or two to sing the national anthem.
Yeah. And you’re just like, what is this? You can tell we’re in Nashville.
Is that Carrie Underwood who just sung that? No. It’s seen.
I’m wondering, when you watch Pitch Perfect, you’re like, that was me in school.
That was me in high school. Were you? Because you’ve been in Pitch Perfect.
Oh, I loved it. We watched the movies in high school. I loved that. I love music.
I love the camaraderie of it. And I love the connectivity of it.
I think that’s the initial pull, right? And so, yeah, I’m really passionate about that.

Book Recommendation Banter

[8:53] All right, Steph, I’ve got a question for you. What’s your favorite book of all time? Obviously, You Met Her Where.
Oh, I thought you were going to say the Bible. Oh, oops.
What’s your second favorite book of all time? You Met Her Where?

Book Promotion Banter

[9:11] A distant second. Totally distant. It’s a pretty good book. Sorry, God. It’s still a pretty good book.
But we’re so excited. Where can people get our book? Okay, I know this.
Amazon.com. Yes. Barnes & Noble. Yes. And? And our website, KevinAndSteph.com.
And what happens if they buy it off our website? What do they get?

Book Promotion Continues

[9:31] An autograph from us. Yes. Who wouldn’t want that?
So listeners, if you’ve already read the book, thank you so much.
We’ve had such good feedback.
One thing that helps us, if you can give us a review on Amazon.com, We would greatly appreciate it. Thank you so much. And thank you for listening.
So Riley, can you share this story with stuff? I saw this online on your Instagram from recently when I believe you’re in Rochester, New York.
And made a mistake. Can you share that with Steph? Because I think this is very, very funny.
Yeah, this is a good, this is a really good story. So glad you asked.

[10:09] Adrenaline is a weird thing. Keep in mind, this is important backstory.
I’m a theater kid. I love to do an accent.
I like to have fun. And when my adrenaline kicks in, that’s like an overdrive.
So we’re playing a show in Rochester, New York.
I get out there, do my first song in my set. It’s high energy, lights, all the works.
And after I do this song in the break, I say, Rochester, in the nitty grittiest New Yorker accent you’ve ever heard in your life.
And as soon as it happened i was like that was kind of weird like that came out intensely and then after the show my entire band roasted me they made so much fun of me in love in love right of course my drummer comes to me and he says i was recording my drums during the set had a little camera set up and had the audio recording and he had the audio of me going one.

[11:14] So there’s video evidence.
Did you get any weird looks from the audience or do you not even pay attention to the audience?
No, I pay a lot of attention to the audience. I mean, they probably thought it was cute, right? That’s what I’ve told myself.
They probably thought it was endearing that this little Southern girl is up there.
They give me a cup of coffee, right? Like they probably think that’s funny. I would hope.
And not as embarrassing as it was for me.
So when you’re singing, are you paying attention to the audience?
Are you reading the signs?
Are you, you know, trying to interact? Are you so in tune with your singing that you don’t even pay attention to the audience? Yes.

[11:51] No, I’m constantly watching the audience. Maybe to a fault. Maybe I pay too much attention.
I think something that you can’t really experience until you’re doing it is the energy from an audience and how that affects you as a performer.

[12:06] You know, sometimes you’ll have really low energy crowds who genuinely just want to come and sit and watch the show. And that’s not a bad thing.
You know, everybody enjoys music.
Everybody enjoys a show differently. So I that’s always the thing.
I’m such a when I watch a show. I’m singing along my hands are up in the air I’m partying but my sister she’s loving the show She’s gonna tell me after how much she loved the show, but she’s gonna sit and watch it and witness it And so as an artist if something happens at random, that’s really funny It’s how do we make that more of a moment?
How do I go tease that person in the audience who just yelled out something goofy.

[12:45] You know, you’re constantly constantly pivoting and reacting and that’s the beauty of live entertainment it’s you are having those once in a lifetime never before had moments because each audience is unique okay so any interesting situations then at a live performance where something happens in the audience you’re like is anybody else saying this besides me like any interesting experiences oh man there there are are so many occasionally we’ll see somebody just dancing okay just absolutely in their own world just going for it that’s always fun and then i had i was playing a show a couple weeks ago and it was a bigger crowd it was nighttime outside and i was sitting down to play the piano tell the story behind a song and a girl on the front row screamed out a song title of mine yelled it out.
She needed to hear the song. It was not in the set list.

[13:45] And it was the most beautiful moment because we pivoted and just her and I had this moment. I sang an acapella.
She sang it with me. It was so special.
So yeah, that’s one of my favorites. I thought you were going to say you had a marriage proposal, like to you, you know, via a sign or within the crowd or something.
That’s what I was expecting you to say. quite honestly it’s happened before in a signing line somebody has asked me to marry them really finally said no oh yeah oh yeah it’s great i was in denmark that adds that makes it even a cooler story like he didn’t have a ring did he no he did not have okay okay because that might have been really pretty it would have been like okay well all right well let’s think about let me think about it let’s talk about this okay so then that leads to the question then what’s the most interesting fan interaction then?
Have you had any stalkers or anything like that then, Riley?
Now that I’m thinking about marriage proposals. Ooh!
It’s a weird thing to have people that want to take a picture with you or meet you or come listen to your show. It’s such an honor. It really is.
Occasionally, you’ll get the few who are like, well, maybe that’s crossing the line a little bit.
But for the most part, it’s just funny and sweet.
And it’s cool to see people so passionate about my music. But, yeah, there have been some times lines have been crossed and you have to get security involved.
Oh, really? wouldn’t recommend that. But for the most part, we don’t have that happen, which is great.

Book Banter Round Two

[15:14] All right, Steph, I’m going to test you again here. What is your favorite book of all time? Obviously, it’s the Bible, Kevin. Yes. Nailed it.
Very good. This time you didn’t say the book we wrote called You Met Her Where.
But it’s still a really good book. That is true. And it would make a great gift for friends or relatives on their birthday or for Christmas.
Friends, you can order your copy of our book titled You Met Her Where at kevinandsteph.com.
And we will make sure to personally sign a copy for you or whoever you want.
And as always, thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story.
So Riley, for all of our guests, I like to give a list of fun facts to let listeners know what you’ve done, what you’ve accomplished, and Steph’s not aware of any of these.
So you’re going to see her genuine reaction to these, and this should spurn some good stories.
Okay. And if I’m wrong on any of these, Riley, please let me know.
I’ll call you out. Please do.
Don’t hesitate. All right, Steph, are you ready? Yeah. Okay.
Fun fact number one about Riley.
She was born and raised in Nashville, and this might be the most Nashville thing I’ve ever heard.
Riley began writing songs at the age of 13 after being discovered at her school choir concert by her manager.

[16:23] So Riley, are you telling me at your school plays, school concerts, there’s talent agents, there’s scouts going to these middle school choirs and plays to see if you can find the next Carrie Underwood is that is that what happens oh no no it’s not that person at the time was there to see his daughter happened to see me and that’s that connector right there so no that’s just a piece of the puzzle right that’s just a part of my story right there at the beginning yeah it was choir concert I had a little solo I took it to town if I do say so myself I took it the town um had a great time but uh yeah that’s how i started writing with adults who wrote songs for a living wow that’s awesome all right step fun fact number two riley was the youngest artist signed to the music label max recordings she signed her first publishing deal at age 15 first record deal at 17 and then played the role of annie in her high school theater production which sounds very unfair to me, Riley, because I can’t imagine someone auditioning for this play, and seeing you up on stage and you’re just killing it and then be like, okay, I gotta follow that. How crazy is that?

[17:40] How good you are in a high school theater production. That’s insane. Oh man, that is so kind.
I was a freshman in high school when we did Annie, which was really funny.
You know, I am and was really short. So it worked out really well.
But no, I mean, there was so much talent.
There were so many talented people in that group. And I love theater.
I want to find a way to circle back to theater in some shape and some form soon.
I would love that. I’d love to end up on Broadway. But Steph, can you imagine going to this play and seeing Riley and her castmates being like, I just spent $7 for this off-Broadway play. That’s true.
That is some high production value for the high school play. I got my money’s worth.
No kidding. It was a lot of fun. We try. We try. We try. That’s really good.
All right. Fun fact number three.

[18:29] Riley has toured with artists such as Torrin Wells, Mandisa, Danny Gokey, Crowder, and now Zach Williams.
So oh my goodness Riley what happens when someone like Zach Williams comes to you and asks for you to open for them perform with them is this like you tell them I gotta think about it I gotta pray about it do you get in the car and just scream please tell us there’s a story with that oh yeah I mean it’s it’s so exciting I I’m a fan of everybody I’ve toured with which is a really really special thing.
I think that there are a couple things you go through in your brain.
It’s one, I’m going to go tour my music on the road across the country.
And then I’m going to get to do that alongside an artist I admire and look up to.
Touring is a big part of, you know, the business of being an artist.
So it’s a it’s a really surreal experience. I still every time I I get booked on another tour, it’s like, it’s so exciting.
What’s been your favorite touring memory?

[19:35] Oh, man, that’s so hard. And you know what? They all start running together, too.
Oh, I bet. Some really special ones.
I’ll say on this past Christmas tour with Zach, I was out with Zach and we were doing Christmas shows and so much fun.
But the bus was so decked out for Christmas.
So every every bunk had a stocking, Christmas lights everywhere.
And every night after the show, the crew would just sit around and take turns picking out Christmas movies, which is so special.
Special oh I’m such a Christmas girl so that was a really special moment how old were you when you started to tour when I started to tour I was finishing my senior year of high school so I I finished senior year on the back of a tour bus I remember after shows writing a psychology paper on the back of the bus so yeah I mean to be 24 I’ve been at this my entire adult life and it’s been full of ups and downs, like anything in life.
So did your parents have to come with you to tour?
No, I was 18. I was, I was on the road.
If I never went to college, but I’m sure that’s what going to college feels like. I’m really out here on my own.

Accolades Overview

[20:52] Right. All right, Steph, next fun fact. In 2021, Riley cemented her place as an artist when she was named 2021 Christian Artist of the the Year in Australia, one of People Magazine’s emerging artists in the US, and was nominated as Female Artist of the Year at the 9th Annual K-Love Fan Awards, making her the youngest nominee in the show’s history.
So what has been one of your pinch me moments, Raleigh? Was it presenting an award?
Was it maybe meeting an idol of yours, whether it’s Dolly Parton or whomever?
What’s been one of your pinch me moments?
There are a lot. I mean, there are so many.
I look back and I could name a variety, but I think the one that sticks out the most to me would be having the opportunity to have played the Grand Ole Opry multiple times.
As a Nashville kid, I grew up at the Grand Ole Opry.
I grew up knowing what the venue is and respecting the venue and respecting the culture of what that building represents, what the circle represents.
And so it was really, really a special experience to be invited by the Opry to sing and to play my music and to have that special moment.
My first, my Opry debut, one of the coolest things that’s ever happened. It was such a fun night.
We got two standing ovations, which was absolutely insane.
Yeah, that’s one of the highlights. It was really special.

[22:18] Okay. So actually performing after you’ve been there as a fan, anything surprise you about the experience of behind the scenes at the Grindelwald Rave?
Yeah. You know what actually did really surprise me is how true to the culture it is.
So you go go back there and it’s like you’re hanging out in your living room really to be as famous and wonderful and respected as the Opry is you go backstage and nobody’s making a big deal of anybody you could be the biggest name there and it’s there’s this understanding we’re there for the music we’re there for the connection between humans that happens when live music is in the the place.
And so the people who work at the Opry, the security cards to the people who show you to your room are wonderfully, beautifully kind people.

[23:10] And so I think that was the best experience ever.
It was so low anxiety, so low pressure because of the atmosphere they’ve created there.
Is it true you’ve met Dolly Parton? I wish I met Dolly. Well, OK, so here’s the story.
My My mom’s met Dolly Parton. They were at the same restaurant.
Dolly was there. They were in an elevator together.
Dolly was really sweet. It was my parents’ anniversary. She ended up wishing them an anniversary on her way out. All the whole nine.
I did the Dixie Stampede when I was a kid. I did the chicken race. Okay.
Which is a really Southern thing to say out loud is that I did a chicken race in Gatlinburg, Tennessee at the Dixie Stampede. And it was a lot of fun.
I don’t think Dolly was there, but it is her Dixie Stampede.
Yes. So I want to meet Dolly.
Oh, don’t. That would be amazing, wouldn’t it? I love Dolly.
I love her. Love Dolly. Yes.
She’s a queen and an icon and a philanthropist.
All of the above. Beloved. Yeah. Great. Everywhere, actually.

[24:14] If you like what you hear, please tell someone about us.
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Closing Remarks

[24:34] And to get more information about us or our entire catalog of episodes, be sure to check us out at kevinandsteph.com.
Thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story.

[24:44] All right, final fun fact. Last year, after headlining a series of concerts in Australia, Riley celebrated the release of her third studio album titled Church Pew with performance like she just mentioned at the Grand Old Opry, which was then followed by an opening slot on Zach Williams’ 100 Highways Tour this fall.
So can you tell us more about that album, Church Pew, and then of course, what you’re doing on tour with the Zach Williams band?
Well, thanks for the list of accolades. That’s really nice. Thanks for sharing all that.
I don’t even know where to begin. This album has been such a pivotal moment for me, not only as an artist, but as a person.
I mean, I’ve gotten to share a bit of my story now. So you know, I’ve been, I grew up writing music.
I grew up in front of people. And there’s so much life that happens between the age of 15.
When I signed my first publishing deal to now being 24 years old, and having those years under my belt.

[25:41] And it’s been this continual journey of being a sponge and learning and soaking up the advice and wisdom of veteran songwriters and veteran creatives and people who’ve been in the industry for a long time.
And also the journey of what it means to find my individual voice as an artist, as somebody who wants to make music because she has something to say.
And Church Pew is the culmination of all of that.
There was something really special that happened when we made this record.
I took off almost a whole year from writing, from creating, to get my brain healthy again.
Prior to writing this record, I was in a really bad place with my mental health.
I was really depressed, and I didn’t know if I wanted to continue doing music because it beat me down.
The industry had been really tough on my brain. That’s the honest answer.
And so taking that year.

[26:39] Reconnecting with my faith and with God and finding that my value doesn’t come from the songs I write or the music that I make, but my value comes from being loved by the creator of the universe and being here for a purpose and a reason.
And that being said, Church Pew was very fulfilling and I love every single song on it and still connect to those songs every single day.

Tour Announcement

[27:04] Well, Steph, she’ll actually be in Ohio in March. March on the Zach Graham store here in Ohio. Come on out. Y’all come hang.
Akron Civic Center. Very cool. Civic Theater. I’m sorry. Yes.
So that’s two hours away. We’re here in Columbus, Ohio. So that’s only two hours away for us. I love Columbus. I love Columbus.
You’ve been here? Yeah, of course. What led you to Columbus?
Touring. Being on the road, visiting different cities. But I really do.
I love Columbus. Lots of good food.
Such good food here. I’m surprised you say that because I’m just thinking when you’re on tour, you don’t actually get to see the city.
Because it’s like, basically you see the tour bus and the venue.
Yeah, you have to be intentional.
If you wanna get out, find a good cup of coffee, have a good meal.
That’s kind of our go-to. What’s the point in touring if you don’t get to see the places, the cultures, all the things? So yeah, I love getting out.
What’s been your favorite place to tour that you didn’t think you would enjoy it as much?

[28:00] Ooh, that’s a really good question.
Outside of the country, Slovakia. I really enjoyed Slovakia.
That was a really fun trip.
It was a really fun show.
And I learned so much about their culture.
It’s not that I didn’t expect to like it. I just knew nothing about Slovakia.
And I mean, within the states, there are so many hidden gems.
The smaller towns, the smaller cities that aren’t necessarily New York or L.A. or whatever.
Like Columbus. this. I feel like Columbus is one that you stumble upon and you’re like, wait, I didn’t know all this was here.
I didn’t know the food was so good. I didn’t know the coffee was so good.
I didn’t know it was so beautiful. So that happens all the time.
I would not have guessed Slovakia. I would not have guessed Slovakia either.
That would not have been on my top probably 100 list. Yeah, same. Same.

Social Media Info

[28:54] Well, listeners, for more information about Riley, you can go to her social media pages on Instagram. It’s at Riley Clemens.
Her website is RileyClemens.com.
And like I just mentioned, she’s currently on the Zach Williams, a hundred highways tour. So please go check her out.
Well, Riley, you are fantastic.
Thank you so much for saying yes to Steph and I, we greatly appreciate this.
Of course. I am so excited to get to speak to you too.
And thanks for asking good, thoughtful questions and doing the research is always so pleasant. And yeah, thank you for taking the time.

Call to Action

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