Brian Kelley at 'Stars and Strings'

Chatting with Brian Kelley ahead of Audacy’s Stars and Strings, host Katie Neal got all the deets about what the Florida Georgia Line member has been up to lately and what he has planned for his next solo album. Discussing the excitement of seeing his chart-rising track “See You Next Summer” get all the love that it has, and his enthusiasm to “just be out and about” working and playing the track, Brian says he feels “blessed” at this point in his career. Kelley notes, “Coming from FGL and doing everything that we were able to do... to have some more dreams out there to hunt down, it’s just exciting. I don’t take anything for granted, every day is new and every day is an opportunity.” “I’m grateful to have this season of life and this chapter to be the captain of my own ship… it’s a special time, I’m really enjoying it.” 10 songs into his full-length solo album, BK has plans to step back into the studio, as well as releasing the first little taste of what’s to come with a new song coming out on 11/17, which he dubbed a “party anthem.” "The track is rippin’, it’s a heavier track in terms of sonically,” he says, which is something you should get used to from BK on at least some of his future tracks. “Thematically and lyrically there’s still a few 'beach, lake, summer-ish' songs, but everything is pretty country-based,” BK revealed. An intentional choice to follow up his first solo release, 2021’s Sunshine State of Mind. “When I made the first record… we were posted up at the beach, it was the middle of COVID, everything was shut down and I dove into songwriting, I dove into my artistry," he explains, "and not only did I have a blast making it, it helped me get through a time where nothing was really normal.” Kelley also says he went into it with respect, knowing FGL dates were on the books, “trying to be really respectful of not diving in sonically… anywhere we’ve come from, any of my influences within that group.” “But now,” he continued, “so much has changed over the past couple of years. I owe it to myself and to anyone that’s gonna listen to my music, to write music, record music, and put out music about where I’m at right now current day, as opposed to what I did two years ago.” BK’s point is that he doesn’t want to limit himself; he’s not just a beach cowboy churning out summer songs. “I’m way more than that and I think everybody knows that,” he added, revealing he has a slow and sexy song called “Ten O’Clock on the Dock” that he’s excited for everyone to hear, and went on to call this next album his “serious body of work.” BK also touched on FGL and how the group didn’t end the way he thought it would, noting he had every intention of doing both. To hear everything Brian had to say, listen to the entire interview above. Words by Maia Kedem</s ...