Riley Cotton is a Connecticut-based folk singer/songwriter. Cotton has been described as “…an old-school type of songwriter whose songs and performance are able to cross space and time to touch that part of your brain where love, loss, happiness, and longing all co-exist” (Chip McCabe, The Dad Metal Blog). While growing up in Texas, much of her musical taste was shaped by the voices of the women of country music who so boldly embraced the power of their belt and divine femininity in the face of an industry that did not embrace them. When writing her own music, Riley aspires to share her lived experiences, take a stance on the issues that compel her, and utilize the masterful story telling mechanisms so prevalent in the music she grew up on. 

Upon the release of her debut album, Cotton has been nominated for a New England Music Award: 2023 Rising Star Connecticut, charted at the #34 slot on FAI Folk Radio for the month of September 2022, and featured in Connecticut Magazine’s Fall Arts issue.