Greg Rider’s first date turns out to be his second in the new single Accident — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
“This song came to life after a date in Nashville,” the Canadian country-pop artist recalls. “It started as an innocent online dating match with a Canadian girl, and it turned into a hilarious coincidence.”
The story: Rider met up with the woman — a fellow songwriter — and after grabbing a drink and getting to know one another, she insisted he looked familiar. “She was from Alberta, and I was from Ontario,” he explains. “I was confident I’d never met her before. But then she asked, ‘Did you ever live in Montreal?’ and my eyes went wide. She said, ‘Oh my God, are you Greg from Montreal?! We went on a date and I still talk about that night with my friends!’ I was in utter shock, and couldn’t believe what she was saying. I felt horrible because I didn’t remember it at all. She had a different hair colour back then, and I was 22 and a club promoter, so I met quite a few girls that summer, but … I still felt like a horrible person!”
So here they were, four years later in a different city in a different country; Rider couldn’t help but question what it all meant. “I wondered, was this a huge coincidence? Why am I meeting this girl again? Was it meant to happen? Or is this more of an accident?”
While their second date leaned more toward #TinderCringe than #TinderSuccess, the pair have stayed friends and can thank the other for an excellent story in their respective songwriting banks. Rider’s version is Accident, the newest song to land after this summer’s One Town Away. Influenced by the likes of Sam Hunt, Kane Brown and Tim McGraw, Rider began his musical journey in Montreal, busking on busy street corners and playing the city’s vibrant bar scene. From there, he took flight to the Cayman Islands, balancing time between bartending and songwriting, playing open mics under the sun and stars.
His islander life wouldn’t last for too long; he was soon convinced to try his hand at North America’s country music capital, Nashville, where he earned the opportunity to play on Grand Ole Opry’s radio station WSM, at the incomparable venue Whiskey Jam, and residencies at some of Broadway’s top venues. He’s back where it all started, now, setting up shop in Waterdown after a recent cross-Canada tour playing over 75 schools to more than 30,000 high schoolers, sharing music with a message of hope and resiliency.
“After years of traveling, I’d been thinking more and more about the day when I’d finally settle down. Crazy, eh? But I always think about when and where I’ll meet my person. I thought I would have found her by now, but I guess it’s not the right time. And it wasn’t that night in Nashville, or that previous night in Montreal.”
Listen to Accident above, hear more from Greg Rider below, read my 20 Questions interview with him HERE, and keep up with him via his website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
