If there is one thing you need to know about Owen Riegling, it’s that he isn’t trying to be anyone but himself.
Hailing from Mildmay, Ontario — a farming community of just 1,200 people — the small-town singer-songwriter is quickly turning into one of North America’s most unstoppable country forces. From winning the 2022 Boots & Hearts Emerging Artist Competition to securing a 2025 CCMA Album of the Year win for his debut project, Bruce County (From The Beginning), Riegling’s trajectory has been nothing short of a rocket ship.
Fast forward to today (July 17) and the breakout star has officially dropped his brand-new single, “Men Into Boys,” fresh off the heels of scoring four major 2026 CCMA nominations, including Entertainer of the Year, Ford F-150 Album of the Year, Fan’s Choice, and Male Artist of the Year.
It’s been a season of monumental milestones for Riegling. In April, he released his highly anticipated, critically acclaimed sophomore album In The Feeling, made his Massey Hall debut, and stepped into the historic circle at the Grand Ole Opry for the very first time.
Even with a double-Platinum single under his belt, standing where country legends have stood brought a wave of raw emotion.
“I had manifested that day for a long time and dreamt about getting to make my Opry debut… but I was also very freaking nervous the entire day leading up to stepping in the circle,” Riegling admits candidly to us backstage at CMA Fest 2026 earlier this summer. “Like, I think it just holds so much weight knowing the meaning behind it and all the other people who’ve been in the circle before me. I was super nervous, but hopefully next time at the Opry those nerves are a little lower… ’cause I was freaking out on stage.”
So, how does a small-town guy handle opening for Luke Bryan, playing The Ryman, and racking up over 190 million global streams without losing himself? It helps when your hometown brings the party to you.
“An easy way for me to stay connected is having a fan club from my small town that follows me around to, like, every show I go to,” Owen laughs. “And there’s a bunch of them here that were at the show yesterday. Um, so yeah, I got like a crew that literally comes everywhere and follows us around, so that definitely keeps me grounded.”
In The Feeling plays out like a coming-of-age road trip, a 12-song project diving into identity, growth, and the push-and-pull of leaving home. To match the sonic landscape, Owen literally rented a 30-foot RV and drove 2,800 miles from Santa Monica to New Orleans to capture candid visual content.
But when it came to recording the music alongside producer Oscar Charles, Riegling wanted the project to feel as raw and human as possible — flaws and all.
“If you wondered why the album sounds real… there’s some timing things, and maybe some flat notes. And I played most of the guitars, so that’s… I’m not really that great a guitar player,” Owen jokes, sharing an exclusive secret with us. “But Oscar Charles and I just kinda got in the studio and worked through everything… It’s really just me and Oscar in the studio. He’s on drums, bass, harmonies, and I’m playing most of the guitars. It just made the whole thing feel super organic.”
He adds with a grin: “Another fun fact, I say the F-word in a song for the first time… That’s a new thing!”
The evolution continues today with “Men Into Boys,” a nostalgic, mid-tempo track co-written with Ryan Kennedy that perfectly mirrors the themes of In The Feeling. Reflecting on how life changes as you grow older, the track tackles the rare, beautiful moments when old friends get back together and time stands still.
With a calendar packed full of summer festivals and support dates for Parker McCollum, Riegling is gearing up for his massive fall headlining tour, kicking off July 26 in Bala, ON before hitting major markets like Nashville, Chicago, New York, Vancouver, and Toronto.
When asked what he hopes his legacy will look like a year from now as he stands in the middle of this career-defining chapter, Owen’s answer circles right back to where it all started.
“My biggest thing is I hope that I can inspire some other kids from small towns, but Mildmay in particular,” he says. “I’m already starting to see kids picking up guitars and writing songs, and I think that’s sort of a new thing for where I come from. I just wanna be sort of that guy that can carve a path and just show people that it’s possible to kinda do it.”
For more on Owen Riegling and his music, make sure to watch our full interview below — and don’t forget to let us know if you’re loving “Men Into Boys” by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sliding into our DMs on Instagram at @celebsecretscountry.
For more Country news, visit CelebSecretsCountry.com. For more coverage from CMA Fest 2026, click here.
