“‘COUNTRY MUSIC SPENT SIX YEARS MOVING ON WITHOUT RILEY GREEN… THEN HE WALKED BACK ONSTAGE AND MADE EVERY OTHER PERFORMANCE FEEL FORGETTABLE.’” After six years away from the ACM Awards stage, Riley Green returned with Change My Mind — and fans say country music suddenly remembered exactly what it had been missing.

Riley Green Performs At The ACM Awards For The First Time In 6 Years

Riley Green Brings 'Change My Mind' to Life with Standout ACM Awards Performance - Country Now

Riley Green returns to the ACM Awards stage for the first time in six years (Photo Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Riley Green Was One Of The First Performers Announced For The 61st Annual ACM Awards

On March 9th, the ACM Awards announced the first three performers at the iconic award show would be Riley Green, Lainey Wilson, and Cody Johnson.

Riley Green, Lainey Wilson, and Cody Johnson were announced as the first round of performers at the ACM Awards
Riley Green, Lainey Wilson, and Cody Johnson were announced as the first round of performers at the ACM Awards (Photo Credit: ACM Awards / Facebook)

Later, other performers announced included Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert,

Riley’s History At The ACM Awards

Riley Green has won four ACM Awards since he burst on the scene in 2019.

At the 2020 show, he took home Top New Male Vocalist Of the Year. His next win didn’t come until 2025 when he won three awards for “You Look Like You Love Me,” his massive duet with Ella Langley.

They won Visual Media of the Year, Music Event of the Year, and Single of the Year.

While he didn’t perform at the 2025 ceremony, he did introduce Zach Top’s performance!

His first and only ACM Awards performance came during the 2020 ceremony when he performed “I Wish Grandpas Never Died.”

Green is up for four ACM Awards at the 2026 ceremony: Album of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Artist-Songwriter Of The Year, and Music Event of the Year.

Riley Performed “Change My Mind” At The 2026 ACM Awards

Despite being one of the most popular country singers in recent years, Green is only performing at the ACM Awards for the second time at the 2026 show! He took the stage to perform his latest single, “Change My Mind.”

“Change My Mind” was released on January 5, 2026 as the third single from his third studio album, Don’t Mind If I Do, which he dropped on October 18, 2024.

Riley Green's album "Don't Mind If I Do"
Riley Green’s album “Don’t Mind If I Do” (Photo Credit: Spotify)

Green co-wrote the track with Erik Dylan and Randy Montana, while longtime country producer Dann Huff handled production.

The song quickly became one of the standout tracks from the album and gained strong traction at country radio. “Change My Mind” climbed into the Top 10 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart in the U.S. It also hit No. 1 on the MusicRow Country Breakout Radio Chart in April 2026. Several music tracking sites also showed the song becoming one of Green’s highest-performing radio singles to date.

Green has performed “Change My Mind” at several major live events. He included the song in his 2026 RodeoHouston 2026 setlist, where reviewers highlighted it as one of the crowd favorites during his opening-night performance.

Riley’s Performance

For the first time in six years, Green performed at the ACM Awards, making his television debut of “Change My Mind.”

He ditched his red carpet look for a more casual outfit of a denim button down for his epic return to the ACM stage.

What did you think of his performance?!