At just 5 years old, Greylan James’ papaw gifted him his first guitar. From that moment on, whenever anyone would ask what he wanted to do in life, he responded, “I’m going to be a Country Music star.” Shortly thereafter, Greylan met his hometown hero, Kenny Chesney, who told him to “stay in school and learn how to write songs” - which is exactly what he did.
After High School, the Knoxville, Tennessee native moved to Nashville in pursuit of his dreams. Shortly after, Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) signed Greylan to a global publishing deal. While writing he was also featured on NBC’s The Voice and ranked one of the best guitarists in the world under 21 by Guitar Center Magazine’s Brotherhood of the Guitar Top 100.
“I write songs about the stories from my life and the stories I’ve seen others live. I just want anyone who’s listening to my music to be able to relate to them,” Greylan says.
His songwriting is proven to be relatable, often ending up in the hands of notable names such as Chris Young, Blake Shelton and Chris Janson. In 2020, Kenny Chesney personally called Greylan to inform him he was recording his song “Happy Does,” which peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. Now, one of his latest cuts, “Next Thing You Know,” recorded and co-written by Jordan Davis is aiming to do the same as it rapidly climbs the charts.
Since the release of his debut EP, I Hope She Hears These, in 2022, Greylan has since signed a record deal with Big Machine Label Group fulfilling a childhood dream and joining the likes of Lady A, Brett Young, Florida Georgia Line and many more. His latest release “Undermine” accompanies a slew of previously released singles including “Old Truck, Young Love,” co-written with NBA superstar Jimmy Butler, “My Future,” and “2 Years Back,” that will be featured on Greylan’s forthcoming full-length album due out later this year.
The songs can be heard live as Greylan opens for Old Dominion on the No Bad Vibes Tour running from January 2023 through July. Along with a rapidly growing fanbase, Greylan has earned support from People Country, American Songwriter, CMT and more including Billboard, who named his forthcoming record one of the New in 2023 projects to look out for, and Sirius XM’s The Highway which just announced Greylan as their official Highway Find — an honor that has previously been held by artists like Luke Combs, Maren Morris, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line and more.