Riley! release To Live And Die In The American South as UK support dates with Ben Quad are confirmed
Riley! have released their new EP, To Live And Die In The American South, via Pure Noise Records. The five-track record arrives alongside closer 73 Summers, an intensely personal song written by vocalist and guitarist Ryan Bluhm about the death of their grandfather.
Built from a gentle opening, a swelling wall of guitars and a recurring piano figure, 73 Summers brings the EP to a subdued but devastating finish. Bluhm says the song was written around the tenth anniversary of their grandfather’s death.
“This is a tough one to talk about. I wrote this song around the 10-year mark of my grandfather’s passing,” Bluhm says. “Being young and starting college and just generally being busy all the time with real life starting, I didn’t notice anything wrong, and I guess I’m not sure if anyone really did. Depression is a quiet killer.”
They continue: “When he took his own life, I had no understanding of how to process going forward. He helped raise me after all. Growing up with a single mum, he almost felt like my father, too. Most of this song surrounds all the questions I wish I could ask now, even if they’re not anything that can realistically be answered at all.”
A sharper edge for the Pure Noise debut
Recorded in Austin with producer Phil Odom, To Live And Die In The American South sees the South Texas trio tightening their hyperactive emo arrangements without sanding away their volatility. The record moves between syncopated bursts, high-register guitar lines and more melodic passages, while keeping Bluhm’s writing firmly at its centre.
Opening track Roll For Initiative arrives with nervous, off-kilter energy, while Another Round Of Radical ‘Ritas, Please features Tades Sanville of Hot Mulligan. Two Bucks brings in Eric Egan, and Backseat Bartender features Gabe Wood of Saturdays at Your Place.
Bluhm says the band were aiming for a more controlled sound in the studio. “We were going for something a little bit more polished,” they explain. “Not everyone is necessarily into screaming emo music, so we wanted to make things a bit more digestible.”
The full track listing is below.
- Roll For Initiative
- Another Round Of Radical ‘Ritas, Please (featuring Tades Sanville)
- Two Bucks (featuring Eric Egan)
- Backseat Bartender (featuring Gabe Wood)
- 73 Summers
Order or stream To Live And Die In The American South here.
UK run with Ben Quad follows summer headline shows
Riley! will tour North America this summer with Kerosene Heights and Bugsy in support, before joining Ben Quad for a nine-date UK run in October. The group will then support Hot Mulligan on a North American tour later in the autumn.
- 17 July 2026 — Indianapolis, IN — Turntable
- 18 July 2026 — Detroit, MI — Pike Room
- 19 July 2026 — Cleveland, OH — Mahall’s
- 20 July 2026 — Washington, DC — Pearl St
- 22 July 2026 — Philadelphia, PA — Nikki Lopez
- 23 July 2026 — Boston, MA — Warehouse XI
- 24 July 2026 — Hartford, CT — Webster Underground
- 25 July 2026 — New York, NY — Elsewhere – Zone One
- 27 July 2026 — Chapel Hill, NC — Local 506
- 28 July 2026 — Atlanta, GA — Masquerade (Altar)
- 29 July 2026 — Orlando, FL — Will’s Pub
- 31 July 2026 — Dallas, TX — TX Tea Room
- 2 August 2026 — McAllen, TX — The Gremlin
- 13 October 2026 — Manchester — YES (Pink Room)
- 14 October 2026 — Newcastle — The Cluny
- 15 October 2026 — Glasgow — Stereo
- 16 October 2026 — Birmingham — O2 Institute3
- 17 October 2026 — Leeds — The Key Club
- 19 October 2026 — Kingston — The Fighting Cocks
- 20 October 2026 — Brighton — DUST
- 22 October 2026 — Bristol — Exchange
- 23 October 2026 — Southampton — The Joiners
- 24 October 2026 — London — Dingwalls
- 30 October 2026 — London, ON — London Music Hall
- 31 October 2026 — Montreal, QC — MTELUS
- 1 November 2026 — Ottawa, ON — History
- 3 November 2026 — Worcester, MA — The Palladium
- 4 November 2026 — Portland, ME — State Theatre
- 6 November 2026 — Providence, RI — The Strand Ballroom & Theatre
- 7 November 2026 — New Haven, CT — College Street Music Hall
- 9 November 2026 — Baltimore, MD — Nevermore Hall
- 10 November 2026 — Charlotte, NC — The Fillmore
- 11 November 2026 — Charleston, SC — Charleston Music Hall
- 13 November 2026 — Miami, FL — Miami Beach Bandshell
- 17 November 2026 — New Orleans, LA — Civic Theatre
- 19 November 2026 — Birmingham, AL — Avondale Brewing Company
- 20 November 2026 — Nashville, TN — The Truth
