A former professional baseball player, Rye is a farmer and majored in Interdisciplinary Studies at Western Kentucky University. As a youth, he grew up playing baseball, a sport he loved even after losing vision in his eye after an unfortunate baseball accident. Eventually, Rye decided to focus on his love of music and singing. He has a dog named Bo, and his musical influences include Waylon Jennings and Garth Brooks. He plays rhythm guitar and also writes music, and his hobbies include fishing and hunting.