Brian Kelley

Beach cowboy and Florida Georgia Line cofounder Brian Kelley’s chilled-out, laidback country-pop is tailor-made for sun-kissed good times. Born in Ormond Beach, Florida in 1985, Kelley spent his late teens and early 20s splitting time between playing baseball and writing songs before heading to Nashville for university, where he eventually formed FGL with worship group pal Tyler Hubbard. With their 2012 debut single, “Cruise”—the first country song to ever become Diamond certified by the RIAA—Florida Georgia Line established a new era of country music with their punchy production and party-friendly lyrics and became a commercial behemoth. In 2021, Kelley headed out on a solo mission, first with the BK’s Wave Pack EP—featuring the beach-blessed “Made By The Water”—and then with his debut full-length, Sunshine State Of Mind. The album doubles down on Kelley’s new-generation Jimmy Buffet bent, as he hits the road to paradise (“Highway On The Water”), muses about what to call his 45-footer (“Boat Names”), and rustles up some margaritas (“Beach Cowboy”) on country tunes swept by the sea breeze.