‘Big Brown Bus’ is the latest song unveiled from Kelly’s highly anticipated full-length debut album, Dying Star, which will be released September 7 on Rounder Records and is now available for pre-order.

In advance of the release, the album’s first single, ‘Mockingbird’, recently premiered across Viacom platforms in an unprecedented partnership between CMT Music, MTVU and MTV Live. Watch/share the video HERE. Additionally, the album’s lead track, ‘Jericho’, recently debuted to widespread critical acclaim

Dying Star was co-produced by Kelly and Jarrad K (Kate Nash, Weezer) and recorded at Sonic Ranch in El Paso, TX. It includes 14 songs written/co-written by Kelly and features Kelly (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, xylophone, harmonica), Jarrad K (12-string guitar, background vocals, electric guitar, Rhodes), Tim Kelly (pedal steel), Ian Fitchuk (piano, organ, drums, percussion), Eli Beaird (bass) and Kyle Ryan (banjo) as well as background vocals from Jon Green, Natalie Hemby, Kacey Musgraves, Kate York, Abby Sevigny and Joy Williams.

Of the album, Kelly comments, ‘A lot of my music is focused on suffering, or trying to understand the human condition through the lens of suffering…which probably sounds totally depressing, but it’s actually the flipside of that. Sometimes you’ve gotta go into that darkness—you need to get lost and then figure out for yourself how to find your way back. That’s the only way we can find pure joy, and really be thankful for the life we’ve been given’.

In support of the new album, Kelly will embark on a headline tour through the US, before a UK run this winter. Tickets are on-sale now. See below for complete details.

The release of Dying Star follows a breakout year for the Nashville-based artist, whose debut EP, Halloween, was released last April to widespread acclaim.

Born in South Carolina, Kelly started playing guitar under the guidance of his dad, Tim “TK” Kelly, a pedal steel guitarist who now performs in his band. Since his father worked for a paper mill and often changed job locations, Kelly grew up frequently moving, living everywhere from Alabama to Belgium, including time in Michigan—where the young one-time figure skater went to train with an Olympic coach in the hope of furthering his career, and where he first began writing songs. At 17, he moved to Nashville to live with his sister and went on to land a publishing deal with BMG Nashville, placing songs with several high-profile artists.

DYING STAR TRACK LIST:

1. Cover My Tracks (written by Ruston Kelly, Jarrad K)
2. Mockingbird (written by Ruston Kelly)
3. Son Of A Highway Daughter (written by Ruston Kelly)
4. Paratrooper’s Battle Cry (written by Ruston Kelly)
5. Faceplant (written by Ruston Kelly, Jarrad K, Brendan Benson)
6. Blackout (written by Ruston Kelly, Jarrad K, Joy Williams)
7. Big Brown Bus (written by Ruston Kelly, Jarrad K, Ricky Brantley)
8. Mercury (written by Ruston Kelly)
9. Anchors (written by Ruston Kelly, Jarrad K)
10. Just For The Record (written by Ruston Kelly, Jarrad K, Lucie Silvas)
11. Trying To Let Her (written by Ruston Kelly, Joe Leathers, Kyle Jacobs)
12. Jericho (written by Ruston Kelly, Joy Williams, Natalie Hemby)
13. Dying Star (written by Ruston Kelly, Caitlyn Smith, Rollie Gaalswyk)
14. Brightly Burst Into The Air (written by Ruston Kelly)

RUSTON KELLY UK TOUR DATES

September 17—London, U.K—The Slaughtered Lamb
November 21—Bath, U.K. —Komedia
November 22—Brighton, U.K.—Patterns
November 24—Exeter, U.K. —The Phoenix
November 26—Norwich, U.K. —Norwich Arts Centre
November 27—Ramsgate, U.K. —Ramsgate Music Hall
November 28—London, U.K. —Islington Assembly Hall
November 30—Cardiff, U.K. —The Globe
December 1—Liverpool, U.K. —Arts Club Upstairs
December 3—Newcastle, U.K. —The Riverside
December 4—Edinburgh, U.K. —The Caves
December 5—Birmingham, U.K. —Institute2

Follow Ruston here!

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George Millington

Journalist at Contact Me

George Millington is a music journalist and reviewer situated in central London. He does not write about a single genre but rather the commercial music industry as a whole. His first album was by The Beatles, which he purchased secondhand from a charity shop in his neighbourhood.

He discovered the gem when he was 12 years old and still has it now, claiming it to be why he fell in love with music. He likes to play disc golf when he's not writing about music. He is a one-of-a-kind individual who is always the first to bust out his air guitar on the dance-floor.

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