Photo: Getty Images
Riley Green surprised the audience with Carly Pearce during his sold-out show at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
Green took the arena stage over the weekend on his headlining “Cowboy As It Gets Tour.” The Don’t Mind If I Do artist introduced Pearce as a special guest, and the pair performed “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay.” The two award-winning country stars debuted the duet last month after stirring anticipation with steamy teasers on Instagram and TikTok. Songwriters Devin Dawson, Seth Ennis, Jordan Minton and Jordan Reynolds teamed up to write the ballad, along with string arrangers Ben West and Gideon Klein.
“So fun getting to surprise the crowd with our song last night in Nashville! Thanks for having me,” Pearce wrote in a caption on Instagram as she shared photos from the surprise performance.
Pearce featured Green on the duet as she hints at her next studio album. The Kentucky-born artist previously delivered “Dream Come True,” “about the sacrifices we make when chasing our dreams,” and “Church Girl,” which she hopes, “meets you wherever you are and gives you a sense of love and acceptance, and not judgement.” Pearce confirmed in a recent appearance on Rolling Stone’s Nashville Now podcast that her album is “done.” Green’s latest song to release is “My Way,” which appears in the country star’s acting debut on the Yellowstone spinoff, Marshals. Throughout his Nashville show, Green also performed with Jamey Johnson, Justin Moore, Mackenzie Carpenter and Drake White, delivered renditions of his career-spanning hits, covered Toby Keith classics and more. See his upcoming tour dates below.
Green and Pearce are part of the star-studded lineup of the 2026 iHeartCountry Festival, along with Luke Bryan, Kane Brown, Parker McCollum, Shaboozey, Dylan Scott, Russell Dickerson, Gretchen Wilson, Lauren Alaina and Chase Matthew, plus special guest George Birge. iHeartRadio's Bobby Bones is returning as the 2026 iHeartCountry Festival’s host. The show will take place on May 2 at Moody Center in Austin, Texas. Tickets to the show are available on Ticketmaster.com. Fans across the country will be able to catch all the action as the 2026 iHeartCountry Festival will be broadcast live across iHeartCountry stations nationwide and the free iHeartRadio app on Saturday, May 2nd at 8pm ET/5pm PT (7pm CT).
Cowboy As It Gets Tour Dates:
May 7th, 2026 - Charlotte, NC - PNC Music Pavilion#~•
May 8th, 2026 - Alpharetta, GA - Ameris Bank Amphitheatre#~•
June 18th, 2026 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center#~•
June 19th, 2026 - Saratoga Springs, NY - Saratoga Performing Arts Center#~•
June 20th, 2026 - Wantagh, NY - Northwell at Jones Beach Theater#~•
June 25th, 2026 - Noblesville, IN - Ruoff Music Center#$*
June 26th, 2026 - Burgettstown, PA - The Pavilion at Star Lake#$*
July 16th, 2026 - Green Bay, WI - Resch Center#~•
July 23rd, 2026 - Salt Lake City, UT - Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre#~•
August 6th, 2026 - Darien Center, NY - Darien Lake Amphitheater#/•
August 7th, 2026 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH - Blossom Music Center#/•
August 8th, 2026 - Bristow, VA - Jiffy Lube Live#/•
August 13th, 2026 - Camden, NJ - Freedom Mortgage Pavilion#/•
August 14th, 2026 - Hartford, CT - The XFINITY Theatre#/•
August 15th, 2026 - Bangor, ME - Maine Savings Amphitheatre#/•
August 21st, 2026 - Sioux Falls, SD - Denny Sanford#$*
August 22nd, 2026 - Grand Forks, ND - Ralph Engelstad Arena#$*
#Justin Moore
~Drake White
$Mackenzie Carpenter
•Hannah McFarland
*Adam Hood
/Zach John King