I’m grateful to Riley for trusting me and for his patriotism and generosity,” Perkins said.

Riley Green’s concert took an unexpected turn when U.S. Marine Jackson Perkins appeared on stage in full uniform, quickly turning into a viral sensation. The audience was energized, but when Perkins’ deep baritone voice echoed through “In Color,” the crowd was stunned. Cheers grew with each verse as Riley humbly moved back, allowing the Marine to perform like a seasoned country star. Hours later, the video had gone viral, amassing millions of views worldwide.

United States Marine Jackson Perkins, Riley Green; Photo Courtesy of Samuel Crabtree

Riley Green invited a very special guest to the stage as part of his cover performance of Jamey Johnson’s “In Color” during his set at the Windy City Smokeout in Chicago on Sunday (July 13). The 36-year-old country superstar welcomed First Lieutenant Jackson Perkins, 26, of the United States Marine Corps in singing the classic country song in front of thousands of fans.

The patriotic moment was captured by a fan, who posted a video on TikTok, which went crazy viral on social media. The clip shows Green beside Perkins singing the tune for all to hear. Green is shown sporting a ball cap and blue jeans while strumming on his acoustic guitar, with Perkins dressed in his military suit from head to toe as he shows off his deep baritone vocal talent and instrumental skills alongside the Alabama-bred country hitmaker.

“Oh, and this one here’s taken overseas / In the middle of hell in nineteen forty-three / In the wintertime, you can almost see my breath / That was my tail gunner ol’ Johnny McGee / He was a high school teacher from New Orleans / And he had my back right through the day we left,” Perkins be heard singing the second verse over the microphone as Green humbly takes a back seat to let his guest shine.

Within seconds of the video, there’s no doubt that Perkins has a gifted voice. He can certainly keep a crowd engaged. But, for him, he’s just incredibly grateful that Green allowed him to showcase his musical skills on a song that he holds close to his heart.

“It was awesome. It was super cool,” Perkins told Music Mayhem in a brand-new interview of his onstage duet with Green. “I knew I could do it, and I’m grateful to Riley for trusting me and for his patriotism and generosity, but going out there was amazing.”

“I draw a lot of personal connection to that song,” he added regarding the song choice. “Obviously, it’s a very patriotic song. It’s nostalgic in a way. Jamey Johnson himself was a Marine, so that means a lot to me, but it just draws emotion out of me because I know that it connects with so many people, too. When you play it, everyone’s thinking about the person in their life who served the country. And then also, I mean, country music just has a way of doing that for us.”

For Jackson Perkins, who is currently stationed at Marine Barracks, Washington, DC, getting to sing alongside Green in front of so many fans was even more important as he aspires to be a country star.

“I’ve always visualized myself being a country music singer, and we’ve yet to see if that will play out,” Perkins, who names artists like George Jones, Josh Turner, and Elvis Presley as some of his biggest inspirations, said. “But, I’m hopeful, I’m also really grateful that the Marine Corps has given me this opportunity to unofficially represent them… I’ve been playing music for a long time, so getting out there and seeing all the people, it didn’t faze me, but it was a surreal moment, and I’m super, super thankful that it happened.”

United States Marine Jackson Perkins, Riley Green; Photo Courtesy of Samuel Crabtree

Perkins, who also works as a liaison for CreatiVets — a program that uses various forms of art to empower and help disabled veterans cope with service-related trauma — said he first picked up the guitar at the age of 20 during college football camp.

“I quickly became obsessed with it. I have a guitar collection building every day pretty much,” he said, adding that he has been performing at open mics and anywhere that will listen. He also started posting some of his music on social media. In addition to that, he has already penned a handful of original songs and plans to record his material when he is ready.

As for whether or not he has dreams of ever performing on the Grand Ole Opry stage, Perkins said, “Absolutely. Definitely. I’m very hopeful that that will happen one day. I’m a visualizer, so I have to put it up on the vision board, but I can see myself there.”

When asked if he has another dream artist to perform with, he said he’d love to perform with Green again, or Morgan Wallen. “I would love to play with Riley Green again. Dude was awesome and took a chance to let me come up there and sing… So I really, really appreciate him. Honestly, if I were to play with anybody, I mean, that Morgan Wallen clip sounds pretty cool to me,” he said, referencing Wallen’s patriotic performance of “Don’t We” on his I’m The Problem Tour. “I think playing ‘Don’t We’ with Morgan Wallen with the huge American flag in the back would give me chills, and I think it’d be a pretty cool moment for the Marine Corps too.”

This isn’t the first interaction that Perkins has had with Green. The two met briefly at the 2025 Folds of Honor Rock ‘n Jock Celebrity Softball Game during CMA Fest in Nashville, Tennessee.

“I met Riley and his team in Nashville at the Folds of Honor celebrity softball game. We talked briefly, we talked about CreatiVets…. And talked a little bit about the Marine Corps. But when we went to the Smokeout, they didn’t know I was going to be there. So I was backstage, I saw some of Riley’s team, and went up to Riley, and he recognized me from the game, and I just said, let’s rip a song,” Perkins explained. “I can play ‘In Color’ and I can play it in my sleep pretty much. And I sang two lines for him, and he’s like, let’s go. Let’s play it.”

United States Marine Jackson Perkins, Riley Green; Photo Courtesy of Samuel Crabtree

“In Color,” written by Johnson, James Otto, and Lee Thomas Miller, has become a staple in Green’s concert set list. But this time, the jam was a moment to remember as the tune highlights the memories of war, presumably World War II, from the perspective of a soldier. The addition of Perkins onstage added even more meaning to the entire spectacle.

Riley Green was part of a star-studded lineup of artists who performed at Windy City Smokeout, which saw Jon Pardi serve as the headliner for the event. Bailey Zimmerman, Koe Wetzel, Kane Brown, Old Dominion, Dylan Gossett, Jon Pardi, and Megan Moroney were among the artists on the bill. Green is currently on the road for his Damn Country Music Tour, which runs through November and features special guests Jamey Johnson, Drake White, and Hannah McFarland.