Brian Kelley Unmasked And Kicking Ass

The Mad Scientist Monster is at it again. Not that the big, purple puppet with deep country voice from the latest season of The Masked Singer is making a comeback. But Brian Kelley, the singer-songwriter and country music star, sees a lot of the mad scientist in himself. This was revealed in our exclusive interview.

“I very much relate to the Mad Scientist Monster,” he says, relaxing at his home in Grayton Beach, Florida. “Cuz that’s kinda how I feel when I’m making a record. I got notes, boards hanging up and stuff everywhere. It's kind of a madhouse 'cause I want to get all the ideas out. I wanna throw paint at the wall, metaphorically. I also want to turn over every stone that could be the right answer for the vibe and the vision.”

Kelley says his appearance on The Masked Singer was a refreshing change. It framed his approach to recording his latest album, “Sunshine State of Mind: Season 2, Chapter 1.” In some ways, the show renewed his passion for music. Additionally, it is fueling the latest act in his solo career.

Since leaving Florida-Georgia Line, Brian Kelley’s life has calmed down, in the best possible way. Gone are the days of back-to-back world tours and demanding recording schedules.

These days, his world is mostly contained in the few square miles of Grayton Beach. There, you’ll find him nearly every day either grabbing a beer with neighbors or manning his surf shop or burger shack. It’s also where you’ll find him fishing the lakes and tributaries that meander off the Gulf of Mexico. You'll see him waving at everyone as he tools by in his boat.

“We’ve definitely been home a lot more, and that’s by choice,” he says of himself and his wife Brittney. “We’ll go in phases of a lot of work, then I’ll have two or three weeks with nothing going on. So I’ll try and get out on the lake, go fishing. Quality of life is through the roof. I’m working a lot, but I’m playing a lot too.”

He’s even found time to become part-owner of a professional sport fishing team, the Gulf Coast Cowboys. The team competes in the Sport Fishing Championship league, angling in tournaments around the southeast in a league-play format. The competitions are streamed on ESPN+ and the SFC channel, if you want to see the Beach Cowboy in action.

“It’s just awesome, you never know what’s going to happen,” he says. “I just love our team, and we’ve got great owners. They won the SFC last year, and we’re looking forward to it.”

Last year, the Kellys’ end-of-the-year respite was interrupted when he received an unexpected invitation.

“We got an email last fall from The Masked Singer asking if I wanted to be on the show,” he says. “We were in holiday mode and just gonna chill, but I slept on it, woke up and was like man, let’s go freaking tackle this!”

Soon after he was walking around an LA TV studio covered head-to-toe in black sweats and a sign that said, “Don’t talk to me.” Not even the other participants on The Masked Singer know who they’re competing against, so the cast is guessing right along with the audience.

Kelley’s Mad Scientist Monster was a hit. He was crooning a wide array of songs one wouldn’t expect to hear from a country music superstar. These ranged from All4One’s middle school dance anthem “I Swear” to Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself.” The show wasn’t just a chance for BK to branch out his musical repertoire, it was an opportunity to take chances he couldn’t without the costume on.

“It was releasing to be in that mask. Nobody knew who I was so I could just sing and have fun and let it rip,” he says. “You’re looking at the judges and catching their vibe, and it’s a weird thing. I could be anyone behind that suit, and they’re just judging me off my voice.”

He took that freeing energy into production for his latest album, which began recording right after the show wrapped.

“I can be hard on myself, and be like this is my brand, this is what I do,” he reflects. “And I think we forget life changes and you grow and you learn and you mature. And taking all that out of the equation by being in a mask, I just needed it. I didn’t know I needed to be on that show, but I needed it.”

His new album is very much what the title implies. It is a continuation of the Beach Cowboy ethos that he’s carried through most of his solo projects. Songs with titles like “Palm Tree Country,” “Saltwater Ranch” and “Blue Sky and a Bottle of Rum,” fill the album. Each one is a warm-weather, drinking-by-the-water track ideal for summer. Much of it is inspired by the time at home in the corner of paradise he calls Grayton Beach.

“Living here, there’s always this sense of creativity,” he says. “Even when you think you're having a beach day or getting out on the kayak or the standup paddleboard, I'm always writing out ideas or a lyric. A melody will pop in my head. It's easy to be inspired here. That's what I love about it.”

Having a personal recording studio just down the road from his home doesn’t hurt either. It's one of several local businesses the Kelley family operates in this little beach town.

Downstairs from his studio you’ll find Tribe Kelley Surf Post, a beachy boutique that’s an elevated take on the traditional tank-top-and-flip-flop emporium. Not far away sits Papa Surf Burger Bar, an old house the Kelleys bought during the pandemic. They transformed it into a beachside burger joint. His partners in the venture are established restaurateur Jason Aldean and Atlanta Braves legend Tom Glavine. Working with the Hall of Fame pitcher has been especially surreal for BK, who was a pitcher himself in high school and college.

“I wanted to be Tom Glavine growing up, with him being a lefty and me being a lefty,” he reminisces. “Me and my dad would put sunflower seeds in this little Tupperware bucket and watch the Braves. And my dad would be like, ‘See how he threw that change up on this count right here? Watch how it moves.’ We'd talk life and ball and just try to soak up as much as you can. You try to model your game after those mechanics. So, to have our world circle back together and be buddies and have a little burger dive together, it's absolutely wild to me.”

While Brian Kelley has full involvement in his local business ventures, his wife Britney is the day-to-day “boss lady” at Tribe Kelley and Papa Surf. While one might think living and working with your spouse could put a strain on a marriage, the Kelleys seem to have cracked the code.

“Business can be tense, but we try not to make it that way,” he says. “Sometimes we go out to dinner and just not talk business and talk about other stuff. We also shut it off when we need to. Sometimes we’ll be talking about business at 10:30 pm and she's like, ‘Hey, babe, I'm tired. Let's not, I can't do it.’ And I’m like got you, let’s just shut it off. Turn on some Netflix and let's chill.”

The couple has also launched a local concert series at Tribe Kelley called Surf Post Sessions. The shows are essentially BK setting up a stage in the surf shop’s backyard. He grabs some musicians and a guitar and plays whatever the heck he feels like. It’s one of the most intimate performance experiences a fan can have with a star of his magnitude. The shows have ingratiate Kelley both to his legions of listeners and with the Grayton Beach community.

“It's all about unique experiences and getting back to that mom-and-pop type shop vibe. It's like 200 people max, just a backyard with a big live oak,” he says. “I just wanted to pioneer a different kind of experience for fans, a different way to see me. Sometimes I'll do songs I just wrote and I'll mess up. Most of the time I don't have a set list, we'll just go by what I'm feeling that night. And sometimes I'll hear somebody say, ‘Hey, play this song!’ And we'll just go straight into that.”

If you’re not able to make it to a Surf Post Sessions show this summer, all isn’t lost. BK is embarking on a 19-city tour to promote his new album beginning late-June. He'll be playing venues across the southeast and Midwest until Labor Day. There’ll be some Surf Post sessions thrown in there, too, so BK can get home and keep the work-life balance he’s worked so hard to achieve.

Editor's Note: Check out author Matt Meltzer's first Hook & Barrel go-around with Brian Kelley.

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