Riley Green is set to make his debut as a coach on The Voice when its milestone 30th season hits the 2026 TV schedule in September, providing some of that country charm the show is known for, thanks to artists like Blake Shelton and Reba McEntire. Green is bringing along with him one thing that those coaches didn’t have, though — a cowboy hat — which presented a challenge due to the size of the Big Red Chair. The “Worst Way” singer explained the solution they came up with and why it was so important.
Riley Green will have his work cut out for him on The Voice Season 30, as he faces off against veteran coaches Adam Levine and Kelly Clarkson and music icon Queen Latifah. He definitely seems up to the task, though, despite realizing early on that his cowboy hat was going to present a problem. Green told Willie Geist on the Sunday Sitdown podcast:
Carson helped me out with that. We were talking about the hat and I made a comment about, ‘Yeah, man, I can’t wear it when I’m sitting down [in The Voice chair] because that chair’s so tall in the back.’ And he said, ‘We gotta get you something.’ So they made me a little hat holster right there on my chair. It’s right there on the side. I kind of sheath it when I get sat down. It’s great.
Why am I just now realizing that other country coaches like Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton never wore a cowboy hat? Even if I had noticed, I would have assumed producers wouldn’t want them to wear one in order to better see their eyes, but I’d never given any thought to the brim being an issue in such a high-backed chair.
For a competition that celebrates country music as much as The Voice does, I’m kind of surprised this is the first time the issue came up. Thankfully, Carson Daly was able to help figure out a solution, and you can even see the little holster on Riley Green’s chair in the promo for Season 30:
Having that authentic cowboy look is pretty important, too, especially with the trash-talking from Kelly Clarkson and the overall coaching competition that Riley Green faces. Blake Shelton has faith in Green and his ability to attract contestants in the genre, but a little help from the cowboy hat definitely can’t hurt. Green said:
It’s always nice to have it to pull out, too, because when a real country artist gets up there and I need to really win them over, I can put the hat on.
This isn’t the first time The Voice has made adjustments to the Big Red Chairs to accommodate the coaches. Season 25 saw Dan + Shay as the first duo coaches, complete with a two-seated Big Red Chair.
I think The Voice crew did a great job on Riley Green's chair, because the hat looks so natural hanging there on the side of the chair, and now I just can’t wait to see the coach and his cowboy hat in action. We’ve still got a couple of months to go, so mark your calendars for The Voice Season 30 premiere at 8 p.m. ET Monday, September 21, on NBC. Episodes will stream the next day with a Peacock subscription.
