Brian Kelley of Florida Georgia Line Goes Solo In ‘Sunshine State of Mind’
His first solo album is all Florida all the time.
In the hit making country duo, Florida Georgia Line, Brian Kelley is known as the “Florida” half. And with his solo album debut, he embraces that label like a badge of honor, stepping forward with a coastal-country approach.
Titled Sunshine State of Mind and out June 25, the album highlights a mindset and sound Kelley ties directly to his Florida upbringing. And speaking with reporters via video call before its release, he says it’s been a long time coming.
“Personally, I’m fulfilling a lifelong dream of mine to have an outlet to do some solo stuff,” Kelley explained. “I always knew deep down and made a deal with myself that the time would be right when the songs were there, and I felt like the songs were there.”
Coincidence or not, the time just so happened to be right just after COVID-19 prevented Florida Georgia Line from performing in 2020. Instead, both members spent the year pursuing solo projects, as BK is not the only FGL member striking out on his own. But he says fans shouldn’t worry about the duo “breaking up.”
In fact, Kelley and FGL partner Tyler Hubbard began discussing their solo ambitions in 2016, and FGL is still very much intact. Hubbard spent much of 2020 in collaboration mode, teaming up with Tim McGraw on “Undivided,” newcomer Lathan Warlick on “My Way” and more. And Kelley’s solo outlet is just that: a project dedicated to his own unique identity.
Over 17 tracks with sand between their toes, Sunshine State of Mind finds Kelley celebrating the simple things in life, love and spirituality — all with the Gulf of Mexico as a backdrop. He explains that it stems from a childhood spent in Ormond Beach, Florida, and how he moved back to the state after FGL made it big, setting up his “Beach Cowboy” headquarters.
“Ever since I’ve left Ormond Beach to chase dreams, I always knew that when we could afford it or God worked it out, I always wanted to come back to Florida,” Brian Kelley says. “And whenever we have kids I want to raise them in that lifestyle. … It connects me to my family and my roots.”
Themes like family and roots mix freely with a sense of natural awe, romance and finding your destiny — as well as BK’s well established penchant for a party. Fans got a first taste with early releases like the gentle “Highway On the Water,” fun loving “Party On the Beach” and sunset-vibing “Made By the Water” — not to mention the strutting “Beach Cowboy.”
Meanwhile, others like “Florida Boy Forever” celebrate his bond with the Sunshine State. And with “Don’t Take Much,” Kelley tributes the little things that got him through 2020 — a time when everything he loved was “stripped away.”
He and wife Brittney were having their home remodeled at the same time, Kelley explains, so they lived in a small apartment in their carriage house for most of the year, sharing the tiny space with four dogs and not knowing when life would return to normal. … But in the process, they discovered how little they actually need to be happy.
In fact, Sunshine State of Mind finds Kelley often writing about Brittney and their life together, including with the opening track, “Boat Names.” Kelley says he and Brittney bought a “big boat” in January, and he couldn’t resist naming it the “Brittney Marie.” It’s now painted in big letters on the boat’s stern — which fans can see in a just-released short film to go with the track — and Kelley says it captures the album’s overall mindset: mix of gratitude and ambition.
“I wrote that just from a dreamer state of mind,” he says. “I love boats, and I love boat names. I think they tell a lot about the person and the boat and they tell so many stories, they’re so unique. We spend a lot of time in Apalachicola [Florida] and there are these really cool shrimp boats, older boats that have these great ladies names, and they’re so intriguing.
“I’m a big dreamer,” Brian Kelley goes on. “And I really believed that one of these days, I was gonna put [Brittney’s] name on the back of a boat. I thought it was like an everyday man’s prayer and love song, and I know everybody thinks I’m a celebrity and all these accolades — and I’m super grateful for that. But I am kind of an everyday man. That’s who I think I am.”
Kelley goes on to say that the album’s sound should feel familiar to FGL fans — it is half of the influence behind that hit making duo, after all. But his new mix of country storytelling, beach rock, hip hop and even some Latin swing is 100-percent BK.
“I really just wanted to create my own sound,” he explains. “All of us artists are one of one, and I just feel like writing what I know, I have an advantage because I have my own lane. It’s a funny way to think, and it’s not meant to sound cocky, I just think ‘Well, here I am in Florida, I’ve got all this content to write about, I can just give myself a job and write with my crew.'”
Time will tell how the FGL fanbase reacts, and Brian Kelley says he hopes to work some solo concerts in between the tour dates he and Hubbard have planned for the fall of 2021. If all goes well, he may even consider sending a song to country radio. But even if none of that were to happen, Kelley’s feeling grateful. This is right where he’s always wanted to be.
“I’ve just been looking forward to this a long time,” he says with a sigh of relief. “That piece of the pie that I needed in terms of my life and what I want to do with it, where I want to go with it? It’s there now with this outlet, and my freedom to create solo stuff. … Last year put a fire under my butt because anything can be taken away like that [snaps fingers]. Life is short, and I didn’t want to wait until I’m 50 to put out a record. I just felt this urgency of ‘Go, BK, go.’ I’ve just been looking forward to this a long time, and it makes me really happy.”
