Given the choice, Sam Riggs would take skydiving over watching movies on any given Sunday. That sense of daring is a key element in his brand of country, a rock-infused sound with a chip on its sonic shoulder from a guy who counts Garth Brooks, Foo Fighters, Eric Church and A Day To Remember among his influences. 
 A St. Cloud, Florida, native, Riggs’ career took off after he set welding aside and quit college in a series of events he calls “the ultimate gamble.” His risky nature and rebel spirit show through in the music, and that no-fear approach to life is quickly setting him apart. “I need to push it to the edge,” he says. “I don’t know how to be any other way.”