Riley Pearce’s third full-length, The Weight of Our Dreaming, is an intimate exploration of his evolving relationship with the music industry and his craft – both the passion that started it all and the pressures that have nearly broken it.  

Written during a period of burnout and disillusionment with the music industry, it’s his most vulnerable and self-assured work to date: a reflection on what’s gained, what’s lost, and what it really costs to chase a lifelong dream.  

Its atmospheric, alt-folk sound is at times raw and gritty, and at other moments determined and uplifting. This is Riley at his most dynamic – weaving the highs and lows together, holding contradiction, while always leaving space for hope. “The album is about the feeling of everything slipping away, the weight of greater responsibilities, and the higher stakes. But it also celebrates a newfound passion and an unshakable faith that this dream is a beautiful and essential part of my life.”   

It’s Riley’s unselfconscious ability to tell stories that are both deeply personal and effortlessly relatable that have earned him a loyal, deeply tuned-in audience since his 2016 debut EP, Outside the Lines, featuring breakout single “Brave”. Since then, he’s racked up over 118 million global streams across 74 songs, six EPs, and two albums – with 24 of his tracks hitting over one million Spotify streams. He has co-written tracks with Garrett Kato and Dustin Tebbutt, earned an Honourable Mention in the 2021 International Songwriting Competition (ISC), and landed major sync deals for Maxton Hall, Netflix’s Love Victor, and US TV hits Shameless and Shadowhunters. On the live front, Riley has taken his storytelling global – playing renowned festivals including PinkPop (NL), A Summer’s Tale (GER), Latitude Festival (UK), The Great Escape (UK), and Zermatt Unplugged (CH). He’s also supported the likes of Leon Bridges, The Teskey Brothers, Wild Rivers, Lord Huron, Lifehouse, and Lucy Rose. His music has drawn critical attention from publications like Rolling Stone, Atwood Magazine, Music Feeds and Milky, who praised his “honest songwriting, and relatable storytelling [that] has resonated both in Australia and overseas.” 

Now, with The Weight of Our Dreaming, Riley steps into a new chapter – meeting the doubts head-on while still clinging tightly to the joy of creating. 

Recommended For Fans Of:

Paul Dempsey, Bon Iver, Gregory Alan Isakov, Novo Amor, Hayden Calnin, Hazlett, The Paper Kites