'Holding nothing back': After Florida Georgia Line, Brian Kelley shares 'Tennessee Truth'

Although not the first time that Florida Georgia Line alum and Volusia County native Brian Kelley has offered a solo album, he considers the new “Tennessee Truth” to be his fully realized solo debut.

“Life was in such a different place” at the time he released the solo “Sunshine State of Mind,” a 2021 collection of Florida-centric songs that included “Florida Boy Forever,” an ode to his formative years in Ormond Beach, Kelley said in a recent phone interview.

“I designed that project with the idea of Florida Georgia Line continuing,” said Kelley, son of former Volusia County Council Chair Ed Kelley. “We still had dates on the books for a year or two when I made that record, so I wanted to have sonic respect for what we created. Make something that was not treading on that or muddying the waters of what we had done.”

Now, nearly two years after the final official Florida Georgia Line performance, the likelihood of a reunion any time soon of Kelley and partner Tyler Hubbard seems more remote than ever. Hubbard is out on his own solo tour, behind his own sophomore post-FGL solo release, “Strong.”

Kelley, meanwhile, is expanding his musical horizons on “Tennessee Truth,” his first release on industry powerhouse Big Machine Records.

“Obviously, now, kind of closing the chapter on the Florida Georgia Line book, I wanted to show what I do and just go hard,” Kelley said. “I wanted to make a great country record and honor a lot of my influences, my creativity, to just push myself. ‘Sunshine State of Mind’ was 100% authentic and real. At the same time, 'Tennessee Truth' is me with nothing else attached, holding nothing back.”

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Produced by Nashville veteran Dann Huff and powered by a studio ensemble that included steel guitar legend Paul Franklin and multiple CMA musician of the year Jenee Fleenor on fiddle, the dozen songs are framed by themes of rural living (“How We’re Livin’,”) everlasting love (“Dirt Road Date Night”), good times (“King Ranch”) and independence (“Kiss My Boots”).

For Kelley, songwriting and fishing have a lot in common

Kelley, who contributed to writing eight of the songs, said that he learned a lot about the process during the album’s creation.

“I’ve been doing it (songwriting) so long now, but it’s still such a mystery to me,” he said. “I have so much respect for the craft of songwriting.”

For Kelley, ideas often start as short memos left on his cell phone. That was the case with “Acres,” a song inspired by time spent with his wife, Brittney, on her family’s farm in Georgia.

“I looked through my phone and I had ‘acres’ written down, inspired by being at Brittney’s family farm, and we couldn’t type fast enough to get those lyrics out. Something like that comes from a real place.”

On other days, the progress is much slower, a reality that reminds Kelley of another favorite pastime.

“The more I fish and the more I write songs, I realize how much the same they are. You’re not always going to catch something, but if I keep going, I’ll be able to land a cast under the trees or be better at coming up with lyrics and melodies. Every song gets you to your next song.”

Kelley on possible FGL reunion: 'You never know'

With its lyrics about a broken relationship, “Kiss My Boots” has generated speculation that the song is about the dissolution of Florida Georgia Line, but Kelley said the inspiration is more universal than that.

“It’s a bigger meaning than one thing or one person,” he said. “Everybody in the music industry has a couple people on the kiss my boots list. I love that song and I’m so glad it's out in the world for people to make it what they want. That’s when music has the most power, when its resonating and when people find their truth in it.”

More: With 'Florida Boy Forever,' Ormond Beach native Brian Kelley celebrates his roots

During its run, Florida Georgia Line generated 19 career chart-topping singles, becoming the first and only act to achieve two RIAA Diamond singles in Country music history (14X Platinum #1s: “Cruise” and “Meant to Be” with Bebe Rexha). The duo surpassing 17 billion global streams, selling more than 40 million tracks and 4.8 million albums worldwide.

As speculation continues from fans about a possible Florida Georgia Line reunion, is Kelley tired of answering those questions? Not yet.

“I’m really proud of what we built,” he said. “We did the unthinkable, what people said couldn’t be done. I’m very, very thankful for those years. People are going to ask, and I’m really proud of that.”

And the prospects of a reunion?

“Time will be the great teller with that. You never know what will happen. We’ll just have to see.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Ormond Beach native Brian Kelley talks solo album 'Tennessee Truth'