Love, heartbreak, and the pursuit of happiness are your typical inspirations for creating the right nation track. Brian Kelley checked all these bins on his path to changing into a multi-platinum nation famous person—however perhaps not to your typical nation music causes.
As an alternative of placing lyrics to music over a broken-hearted breakup, a redshirt designation as a freshman pitcher at Florida State started shifting the left-hander extra towards music whereas his Seminole teammates had been on the street pursuing their baseball desires.
“I didn’t get to journey with the staff, in order that left me with fairly a while to sulk in my house and write songs about it,” Kelley remembers, laughing. “I simply made essentially the most of that point—I wasn’t out partying, I used to be in my room writing songs.”
Kelley says the frustration didn’t completely dissuade him from giving up on his Main League boyhood desires. Nonetheless, his ardour for performing was placing each skills on a collision course—which required the athlete and artist to stay each mentally centered and bodily match. “I didn’t care if I used to be the final choose, I’d go and a minimum of give it a shot,” he says. “But when my identify wasn’t known as, that was going to be the signal that music was going to be my path.”
Shifting ahead required shifting to Nashville, the place Kelley transferred from FSU to tiny Belmont College, the place he was in a position to each pitch and pursue a music diploma. It’s the place he met Tyler Hubbard, the opposite half of the chart-toping Florida Georgia Line. The duo recorded 19 profession No.1 hits, together with the diamond-selling 2012 smash “Cruise,” and “Meant to Be.”
Now, following the group’s well-publicized cut up in 2022, Kelley continues writing about heartbreak and happiness—and fishing—this time as a solo artist. He simply launched his new solo album, “Tennessee Reality” and his latest hit, Kiss My Boots, is an ode to being wronged. The change in record-making routine has reinvigorated the creativity course of, permitting Kelley to put in writing in his personal voice. “Each are nice,” he says. “I like collaborating, nevertheless it’s cool to have the ability to zoom in on who I’m, and share with people who find themselves like, ‘oh, that solely him. I believe that’s cool.”
Most essential, Belmont was additionally the spot the place Brian Kelley met his spouse, Brittney. When he’s not performing around the globe, the 2 take pleasure in life pursuing what he refers back to the “Seaside Cowboy” life. They journey collectively, prepare dinner collectively, and perhaps most essential he says, they oftentimes practice collectively, feeding off one another’s power or pushing each other. Staying match has been part of Brian Kelley’s routine since his enjoying days, and is what’s maintaining him in sport form at age 38.
Kelley’s keys to sustaining Nation Muscle don’t all the time contain heavy weightroom, baseball-specific classes, it now varies with cardio work, some deep sea fishing and even the occasional “redneck chilly plunge.”
And when the motivation isn’t all the time there, Brittney is, ensuring the couple will get a sweat in earlier than they get to any sort of beachside chillin’. “I’m grateful I’m married her as a result of she’s a trooper,” he says. “She’s like, you higher stand up right here and work out with me. And I’m like, yep, [let’s go].”
Brian Kelley Retains Fishing for Success
So what actually is a seashore cowboy? Within the Ormond Seaside native’s phrases, it’s having the mindset of working arduous and enjoying arduous and having fun with life to the fullest. “I like the barefeet or boots sort of way of life,” he says. “It’s essential for me to have the ability to join with nature, whether or not I’m looking or having a seashore day with Brittney. I like all elements of each life. However on the finish of the day, it’s simply that headspace.”
For Brian Kelley, paradise means having a bass on the finish of a fishing pole. The “See You Subsequent Summer season” singer says that casting a line oftentimes hits the coaching trifecta—fishing can goal each bodily and psychological well being in addition to nailing your diet. Whether or not it’s reeling in swordfish from the Gulf or enjoying catch and launch within the yard lake of his 18-acre cabin outdoors of Nashville, for Kelley, no time is ever a foul time for a bit of rod and reel remedy. “I’ll sneak in a fast half-hour at our home and be like, Babe, I’m operating out to the dock and see if something’s biting,” he says. “Even when I’m tremendous busy, I’d slightly skip lunch and go fish for a bit of bit.”
Kelley says he’s build up his bass inhabitants at dwelling, which he says is modest compared to different native nation superstars. “I’m attempting to maintain up with Jake Owen—he’s acquired a pleasant property stuffed with bass,” he says. “I’m attempting to work my approach as much as his measurement, so I’m not going to eat them.”
Fishing not solely helps feeds the physique, it may additionally assist gas creativity. One track he refers to was his 2021 hit “Sunshine State of Thoughts.” He says each the perfect and worst moments of being on the water can encourage track lyrics.
“I had a extremely dangerous fowl’s nest in my reel,” he remembers. It was horrible. I used to be attempting to untangle it. I wasn’t purported to be writing a track. However I used to be already pondering of some lyrics about this example…that’s what nation music is.”
There’s additionally the bodily component, particularly when caught reeling in an extended and fatiguing deep sea session. Kelley says the pulling and stabilizing required throughout some intense fishing moments mimicked a few of the heaviest weightroom exercises he’s carried out. “A number of years in the past we fought a white marlin for most likely 40 minutes. I used to be exhausted. I didn’t even have to work out that day, as a result of I simply had one.”
Submit exercise, when it’s time to fireside up the Inexperienced Egg, Kelley appreciates the trouble put in to offer dinner. “When you may go get your groceries out within the Gulf of Mexico or out within the Choctawhatchee Bay. That’s what it’s all about.” Whereas he can navigate the grill, he leaves the principle course for Brittney, who he says places her personal spin on that day’s catch, whether or not or not it’s crimson snapper or mahi mahi. “I like her creations,” he says. “She’s acquired a bit of foodie factor occurring within her. She will be able to take me to Flavortown, and I find it irresistible.”
Breath Work to Make the Music Work for Brian Kelley
At Florida State, Brian Kelley developed a love-hate relationship with squats. “We had been pushing a number of weight again then,” he says. “I hated it however I loved it as a result of I used to be fairly respectable at it.” What he remembers being most dreaded was the post-legday conditioning—operating the steps of FSU’s 80,000-seat Doak Campbell Stadium. Every session was grueling check of each bodily and psychological toughness.
“We had been, like, are you freakin’ kidding?” he says. “I may barely choose up my legs, however we did it. You possibly can all the time do greater than you assume you may. It’s nice cardio to your legs. Once we had been exhausted, we both centered or else we had been tripping on these steps.”
Due to its effectiveness, Kelley’s open to giving that kind of coaching yet one more strive. “Possibly the venues I’m at don’t have these kinds of steps.,” he says. “However subsequent time I see a set of steps, I’m gonna hit them.”
Nowadays, conditioning and suppleness are music musts. Oftentimes, Kelley will go for a lightweight run whereas touring. And so as to not pop a hamstring throughout one in all his high-strung concert events., he’ll generally add some stretching and mobility work.
However most essential for a singer, is, properly, singing. And that requires an emphasis on cardio and conditioning.
“It’s not straightforward singing and operating round and getting excited,” he says. “There’s quite a bit to it at this degree, and for the exhibits I need to produce. So maintaining cardio intact is essential as a result of your breath is every little thing in terms of singing.”
To do that evening after evening, he’s turned to counting on coaching from well-known breath specialist Wim Hof. “I did that fairly a bit over the previous two years. I believe it’s nice.” He’s additionally turned to his Plunge ice tub at dwelling in Nashville. In Florida, he created what he calls a “redneck plunge.” “It’s only a massive water trough principally, and I’ve acquired a bit of icemaker down there and so acquired the true deal up right here. And I learn that down in Florida and simply put it outdoors and simply go for it.
A couple of minutes within the ice tub, he says makes all of the distinction in terms of onstage efficiency. “That’ll take your breath away,” he says. “It’s a must to discover your breath whenever you get into that actually chilly water, however I simply tried to essentially hyper-focus after I’m figuring out.”
Having the Excellent Coaching Companion
For anybody following in the identical path as Brian Kelley, his recommendation is easy: Observe your desires and stand by your selections. He says that though he might have turned down provides to play at bigger colleges, his transfer to Belmont has formed his whole life.
“I’m a giant fan of individuals going after their desires and getting after it,” he says. “I can’t think about a life the place if I had by no means moved to Nashville, I wouldn’t be married to Britney. I wouldn’t be on this world. I’d be enthusiastic about properly, I ponder what wouldn’t it be if I’d have moved to Nashville? I’ve by no means would have recognized. So I encourage folks to go discover out go discover out.”
Now married for greater than a decade, the couple have constructed their very own model of happiness, which incorporates constructing a modest dwelling fitness center to remain each match and collectively. On the couple’s Nashville residence, the couple maintains a modest dwelling fitness center, stuffed with free weights, kettlebells, and medication balls. “It’s fairly easy, nothing too loopy,” he says. “But it surely’s ok to get a great sweat and a great pump.”
The couple additionally share Peloton classes. “We’ve a extremely good routine of going upstairs and activate the peloton on the TV,” Kelley says. “We’ll get after it collectively and do the identical factor. We discovered a pair good instructors who’re unbelievable that we like. It pushes us, and that’s been actually enjoyable.
On the street, when showtime nears, Kelley says the pair will enterprise into their very own coaching territory. He says whereas Brittney might go for a programmed exercise, he goes for going rogue and hitting the weights arduous. “On present day. I like being within the fitness center and going old-fashioned,” he says. “I really feel like I’m in a highschool soccer weight class. It takes me again. I placed on my headphones on and I flip into a special human.”
It is probably not the health components for everybody, however the additional time the 2 spend coaching collectively has change into a wholesome marital bonus. “We love working collectively and it’s simply one other 30 to 45 minutes we get to spend with one another,” he says. “It’s cool to look over and see her work, hear her breathe and know she’s placing within the work proper subsequent to me. It pushes me.”
What can different {couples} do to include health into their seashore cowboy way of life? Kelley provides some recommendation: “I’d say strive a guided exercise—whether or not that’s any person on YouTube or a subscription like Peloton,” Brian Kelley suggests. “Strive one thing the place you each have a coach that’s presenting the exercise. Have enjoyable, take pleasure in it, and push one another.