Greylan James
#
230
Ranking
Rising Artist
BIRTHDATE
BIRTHPLACE
Knoxville
,
TN
,
USA
30
Greylan James (born June 18, 1996) is a Knoxville, Tennessee-born singer-songwriter and Big Machine Label Group artist who went from playing karaoke cafes as a child in his idol Kenny Chesney's hometown to penning over 650 million streams worth of cuts for Chesney, Jordan Davis, Cole Swindell, and Darius Rucker, winning the ACM Award for Song of the Year for "Next Thing You Know," and launching his long-awaited solo artist career with the debut single "Young Man," a tribute to the grandfather who gave him his first guitar and made everything possible.
Current Tour & Setlist
James played the Tortuga Music Festival in Fort Lauderdale in April 2026, the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville in July 2026, and Night in the Country in Yerington, Nevada alongside Cole Swindell, Jordan Davis, and Priscilla Block, with additional summer dates including City Cruises in Chicago on June 23, Willow Tree Winery in Ham Lake, Minnesota on July 11, and Voice of America Metropark in West Chester, Ohio on August 6. Fans can expect a setlist built around "Young Man," "Water at a Wedding," "You and Jesus," "Give Me a Second (The Before)," and fan-favorite deep cuts from his debut EP "I Hope She Hears These."
Early Life
Born June 18, 1996, in Knoxville, Tennessee, Greylan James was raised on a diet of cleats, cowboy hats, and country music in a city that had already produced his idol Kenny Chesney, and from the moment his grandfather gave him a toy guitar at age five he told anyone who asked that he was going to be a country music star. His grandfather, who gave him his first real guitar and bought him singing and guitar lessons, became the central figure in his creative life, inspiring the song "Young Man" years later, while a fateful childhood meeting with Chesney himself produced the advice to "stay in school and learn how to write songs," which James followed to the letter before ranking as one of Guitar Center's top guitarists in the world under age 21 and heading to Nashville at 18.
Career Highlights
After moving to Nashville at 18, James signed a global publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group almost immediately, and spent several years honing his craft as a songwriter before cracking the A-list with Kenny Chesney's "Happy Does," which peaked at number two on the Billboard Country Airplay chart after Chesney personally called James to tell him he was recording it. He went on to co-write Jordan Davis's "Next Thing You Know," which reached number one on the country chart and won the ACM Award for Song of the Year and a BMI Award, while his broader writing credits include cuts for Chris Young, Cole Swindell, Darius Rucker, Chris Janson, Bailey Zimmerman, and Blake Shelton, accumulating over 650 million streams from his songbook. He signed with Big Machine Label Group to launch his solo artist career, released his debut EP "I Hope She Hears These" in 2022, toured with Old Dominion and Cole Swindell in 2023, supported Scotty McCreery and Adam Doleac in 2024, and released his debut solo single "Young Man" in 2025 as one of Nashville's most anticipated artist breakouts.
Family & Personal Life
James keeps his personal life entirely private, with no confirmed relationship or family details beyond his deep bond with his late grandfather, who gifted him his first guitar, inspired his debut single "Young Man," and whom James has described as the person most responsible for setting him on his musical path. He remains close to his Knoxville roots and has spoken about how growing up in Kenny Chesney's hometown, where country music felt like a real and achievable career rather than a distant fantasy, gave him the confidence to pursue his dream from an early age.
