Florida Georgia Line ā Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley ā are one of the biggest acts in modern Country music.
With 3 number one albums and a string of number one singles including recent release H.O.L.Y, the duo have established themselves as a force to be reckoned with. Florida Georgia Line recently released their third album Dig Your Roots and theyāre currently on the road in the US on their epic tour of the same name.
I caught up with Brian from the band to find our more about Dig Your Roots, talk about him taking lead on more songs, and to find out if the tour is planning to visit the UK in 2017.
Dig Your Roots feels like a purposely-themed record. How did you come up with the concept for it?
This record took probably over a year to make and a couple of years to write. I think itās a reflection as much as itās a celebration. Itās a look back at who has gotten us here, how we got here and being thankful for the present and planning for the future. We wrote the song Dig Your Roots somewhere in that process, and it didnāt become the album title track until towards the end when it all started making sense.
The Backstreet Boys collaboration came in last minute and we knew we had Ziggy Marley and Tim McGraw, and all the while we are digging our roots thematically, sonically and especially when it comes to our influences. Weāve always loved reggae and Tim McGraw is one of our hugest inspirations, heās a legend and someone weāve always looked up to. Backstreet Boys were my first concert and they were Tylerās first CD.
We just wanted to be real with everybody, not worry about labels and not worry about anything but putting out the best music we can. Thereās a lot of themes we wanted to hit. Weāve grown up a lot, weāve learned a lot, weāve gained a lot of knowledge and weāre very thankful to be where weāre at. Songs like While Heās Still Around, Lifer, Grow Old and Music Is Healing are ones as men we just have to get out (laughs).
The album feels very personal and itās deeper than your previous releases. Was it a conscious effort to do something more mature this time?
For sure. We donāt ever want to make the same record so I think it was definitely a conscious decision to do things different, for me to sing a little more lead and to do more collaborations. On some songs production wise less is more and I think thatās really cool. There are songs that sound a little different but they couldnāt be more Florida Georgia Line or more me and Tyler. We had a blast making this record, we really did. It took a lot out of us in a good way, I mean that. We really put everything we had into this album and I think it comes across.
The thing that struck me about Dig Your Roots is that the album is musically very varied and it pushes the boundaries of what some people would label ātraditional countryā. Were you keen to disregard whatās expected and just craft sounds that represent what you can bring to the table?
Absolutely. I think weāre more concerned with pleasing ourselves and pleasing our fans. In doing that, thatās just being real, being creative as we can be and playing on our influences. I think writing where youāre at, being transparent and just being realā¦weāre creators and weāre songwriters at heart, so weāre always thinking what next and what fits in with where weāre heading. We always want to push the limit and push the boundaries, and more importantly just find our road and our lane and just stay in it. Weāre not trying to hop in anyone elseās lane; we donāt do that!
You mentioned earlier that you take more of a lead on this record. Your voice brings a different dimension to the Florida Georgia Line sound thatās a little more soulful and leaning towards R&B. Tell us more about the tracks you sing lead on.
Iāve got four of five songs that I sing lead on; Island, While Heās Still Around, Heatwave and a verse on Dig Your Roots. It just kind of came on a song-by-song basis. We knew we were looking for a couple of songs that I could do leads on but really it came down to what sounded the best, and the same for Tyler. Thatās how we always worked, using our voices to our strengths. Some of these songs just felt like they were my voice and others were Tylerās voice. We had a blast with Tyler singing harmonies and I think like you said, it gives us a fresh sound and itās something different for our fans.
We want to continue to push this thing forward and hopefully it surprises some people and answers some questions. I had a blast singing lead and we really worked hard on this thing. Joey (Moi) our producer, myself and Tyler really pushed our voices as far as we could, singing all the different harmonies. Thatās not the easiest thing. When it comes to singing lead I think it comes down to really learning the song, understanding it and digging the heart of it. I think it makes you a better singer when you get the heart and the issue of the song across. Weāve lived all of those songs so I think thatās what makes it easy to sing in terms of realness.
Dig Your Roots feels incredibly well sequenced and there isnāt a single track you want to skip. Was it hard to select only 15 songs to put on the final record?
Man, I wish we could have put 30 on there! (laughs) These 15 just really stood out. We wrote a ton of songs the past couple of years and has some other cuts from other artists, but these 15 really sounded like a complete work of art. I remember writing the sequencing out on a flight somewhere. I put the order down and said āhey guys, are you cool with this?ā everybody looked at it, listened to it mentally and said āyeah, thatās perfect.ā We did think about it (the sequencing) and wanted it to be an experience. We put all of those songs on there and in that order for a reason so itās definitely an experience and not just something that passes by yāknow? I think you can definitely get to the heart of the record by doing it in order.
Life is a Honeymoon is such a summer jam. How did the collaboration with Ziggy come about?
We wrote this song with our good buddy Jordan Schmidt and Cary Barlowe. We knew we were going to cut it the day we wrote it; it just felt like Florida Georgia Line and like record three. We were kinda done with the track and we decided to make it just full on reggae. Sometimes you can dance around it and just put little elements on it but thereās no fooling anyone ā thatās a reggae track and thatās how we wanted to do it. Weāve always loved reggae and itās influenced Sun Daze and other songs weāve done, and we love the Marley family. For us we were just dreaming big and going for it. Our management just reached out to his managers and sent him the song and he loved it. Unfortunately we didnāt get to work together in the studio because we were so busy but he sent his parts back and his voice brings so much authenticity to the track. It really brings a stamp of approval. His words are magic, theyāre powerful and theyāre beautiful. Itās a surreal experience for Tyler and I to listen to that song and have a Marley voice and soul on it.
Dig Your Rootsā lead single H.O.L.Y. has been another huge number 1 hit for you. Are you still surprised by your success and the passion your fans have for your music?
Kinda. Our fans continue to keep blowing our minds. Itās absolutely crazy. Just when we think things canāt get any better, we release a song like H.O.L.Y. and it connects us to our fans on a very, very special level. Itās a really cool moment in our set when weāre all connected on the same frequency. You look out and you see people with their hands raised, you see people kissing,you see people crying, people connecting in their element and doing their thing in the present moment. Thatās a very powerful thing for us. Theyāre screaming the words back to us and itās a good feeling. Itās a good feeling of acceptance, it shows their loyalty and itās something that keeps us on the road, keeps us coming back for more, keeps us writing, keeps us working harder and I think it makes us better.
It must have been hard to choose a lead single from this record because all of them are potential hits. Did you always know H.O.L.Y. would be the single to launch with?
H.O.L.Y. just felt like the one and it felt like a no brainer. We felt that we just had to get it out. I donāt think it would have been as powerful had we just released it on the record. I think it needed to be first and I think it made a bolder statement.
Youāre in the midst of your extensive North American Dig Your Roots tour. Howās that experience been for you so far?
Itās been a blast! Itās been an amazing, amazing tour. I think our production has been the best itās ever been. Weāve got more people showing up than ever and the party is getting more and more amazing every night. Weāve got Kane Brown, Cole Swindell and Cadillac Three touring with us. Theyāre doing an amazing job of getting everybody pumped up and ready. Weāre getting a lot of sell-outs and weāre just thankful man. I really do feel like our fans have stepped it up this year and I donāt know how thatās possible. The intensity theyāre bringing is making us step our game up and we feed off that so itās a very special tour for us. I think itās the best tour weāve been on.
Will you be bringing the tour over to the UK in 2017?
Man weāre praying, absolutely that would be amazing. I think thatās definitely part of the plan. Weāre trying to get back over as soon as we can. We love the UK and had a blast last time. It was short but sweet. Weāre definitely looking forward to it, no doubt!
Florida Georgia Lineās latest album Dig Your Roots is available now. Watch the music video for May We All below:
[brid video=”62789″ player=”531″ title=”Florida Georgia Line May We All ft. Tim McGraw”]