Country music star Riley Green has navigated a unique logistical challenge during his debut season as a coach on The Voice: how to manage his signature cowboy hat while navigating the show’s iconic, high-backed red chairs. The 37-year-old singer, who frequently appears in public wearing a baseball cap or a cowboy hat, found that the design of the show’s seating made his traditional headwear impractical during filming.
Engineering a Custom Solution for the Red Chairs
According to comments Green made to Ohio radio station K99.1 FM, he consulted with Carson Daly regarding the wardrobe conflict. Green explained that the height and shape of the coaches’ chairs prevented him from wearing his hat comfortably while seated. To address the problem, the production team installed a custom-made accessory on his chair.
Green described the addition as a “little hat holster” located on the side of his seat. This modification allows him to remove his hat and “sheath it” whenever he sits down to listen to auditions. The singer noted that the feature is unique to his station, adding, “Nobody else has that.”
Integrating the Hat into the Coaching Strategy
Beyond the practical necessity, Green has found that the hat serves a dual purpose in his role as a coach. During an appearance on the Sunday Sitdown podcast with Willie Geist, he suggested that the hat is part of his competitive toolkit. When a country artist takes the stage, Green noted that he uses the hat as a visual signal to connect with the performer and secure them for his team.
The presence of the holster was confirmed in promotional materials for Season 30, which showed the hat resting in its designated spot alongside Green as he sat with fellow coaches Queen Latifah, Kelly Clarkson, and Adam Levine.
Path to the Coaching Panel
Green’s appointment as a coach for the 30th season of the competition followed a series of industry interactions. He told American Country Countdown that the opportunity developed after he participated in a Q&A session at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. He credited his ability to build a rapport during that event, along with a separate appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s late-night show—where he demonstrated a duck call—as the primary factors that led to his casting. The show’s producers were reportedly seeking a personality profile similar to former coach Blake Shelton, and Green’s background and media appearances positioned him as a candidate to fill that role.
