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 celebrity—however perhaps not on your typical nation music causes.
As a substitute 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 highway pursuing their baseball desires.
“I didn’t get to journey with the crew, in order that left me with fairly a while to sulk in my condo and write songs about it,” Kelley remembers, laughing. “I simply made probably 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. Nevertheless, his ardour for performing was placing each skills on a collision course—which required the athlete and artist to stay each mentally targeted and bodily match. “I didn’t care if I used to be the final decide, I’d go and no less than give it a shot,” he says. “But when my title wasn’t referred to as, that was going to be the signal that music was going to be my path.”
Transferring ahead required shifting to Nashville, the place Kelley transferred from FSU to tiny Belmont College, the place he was capable of 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 write down 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 world wide, 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 vitality or pushing each other. Staying match has been part of Brian Kelley’s routine since his enjoying days, and is what’s retaining him in recreation form at age 38.
Kelley’s keys to sustaining Nation Muscle don’t at all times 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 at all times there, Brittney is, ensuring the couple will get a sweat in earlier than they get to any type 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 rise 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 exhausting and enjoying exhausting and having fun with life to the fullest. “I like the barefeet or boots type of life-style,” 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 features of each existence. 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 vitamin. 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 nasty time for just a little rod and reel remedy. “I’ll sneak in a fast half-hour at our home and be like, Babe, I’m working out to the dock and see if something’s biting,” he says. “Even when I’m tremendous busy, I’d somewhat skip lunch and go fish for just a little bit.”
Kelley says he’s build up his bass inhabitants at house, which he says is modest compared to different native nation superstars. “I’m attempting to maintain up with Jake Owen—he’s bought a pleasant property stuffed with bass,” he says. “I’m attempting to work my manner as much as his dimension, so I’m not going to eat them.”
Fishing not solely helps feeds the physique, it may possibly additionally assist gas creativity. One track he refers to was his 2021 hit “Sunshine State of Thoughts.” He says each one of the best 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 considering of some lyrics about this case…that’s what nation music is.”
There’s additionally the bodily aspect, 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 number 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.”
Put up exercise, when it’s time to fireside up the Inexperienced Egg, Kelley appreciates the trouble put in to supply 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 it’s pink snapper or mahi mahi. “I like her creations,” he says. “She’s bought just a little foodie factor occurring within her. She will be able to take me to Flavortown, and I adore it.”
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 quite a lot of weight again then,” he says. “I hated it however I loved it as a result of I used to be fairly first rate at it.” What he remembers being most dreaded was the post-legday conditioning—working 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 might barely decide up my legs, however we did it. You possibly can at all times do greater than you suppose you may. It’s nice cardio on your legs. Once we had been exhausted, we both targeted or else we had been tripping on these steps.”
Due to its effectiveness, Kelley’s open to giving that sort of coaching yet one more strive. “Perhaps the venues I’m at don’t have these varieties 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 light-weight run whereas touring. And so as to not pop a hamstring throughout considered one of his high-strung live shows., he’ll generally add some stretching and mobility work.
However most essential for a singer, is, effectively, singing. And that requires an emphasis on cardio and conditioning.
“It’s not straightforward singing and working round and getting excited,” he says. “There’s loads to it at this stage, and for the reveals I need to produce. So retaining cardio intact is essential as a result of your breath is the whole lot relating to 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 house in Nashville. In Florida, he created what he calls a “redneck plunge.” “It’s only a massive water trough mainly, and I’ve bought just a little icemaker down there and so bought 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 relating to onstage efficiency. “That’ll take your breath away,” he says. “You must discover your breath if you get into that basically chilly water, however I simply tried to essentially hyper-focus after I’m figuring out.”
Having the Good Coaching Companion
For anybody following in the identical path as Brian Kelley, his recommendation is straightforward: Comply with your desires and stand by your selections. He says that though he might have turned down affords to play at bigger colleges, his transfer to Belmont has formed his whole life.
“I’m an enormous 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 fascinated with effectively, 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 house health club to remain each match and collectively. On the couple’s Nashville residence, the couple maintains a modest house health club, full of free weights, kettlebells, and drugs balls. “It’s fairly easy, nothing too loopy,” he says. “Nevertheless it’s adequate to get an excellent sweat and an excellent 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 highway, 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 exhausting. “On present day. I like being within the health club and going old skool,” 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 unique human.”
It is probably not the health system for everybody, however the additional time the 2 spend coaching collectively has turn out to be 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 life-style? Kelley affords some recommendation: “I’d say strive a guided exercise—whether or not that’s any individual 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.
