Capitol NashvilleEven though Charles Kelley is releasing his first solo project and setting out on his first solo tour, he says fans shouldn’t worry that the future of Lady Antebellum is in jeopardy.
“This band will never quit,” he asserts. “We’ve worked too hard and we’ve built too big of a fan base and we just love it too much and love each other too much to ever stop. It’s just after 9 years you want to try something different.”
His new venture actually started in a conversation with Lady A’s original producer, Paul Worley.
“We were getting a little nostalgic and I said, ‘Hey man, you know I did write this really cool song called ‘The Driver’ you know that I may go in and demo and he goes, ‘Why don’t you come to my studio and let’s just do it. I won’t charge you anything, you pay for the band, and if it comes out like crap, no one has to hear it,’” he recalls. “And I was like ‘Alright! Why not?’ I’ve got nothing to lose and once it kinda came out like it was something I was like, ‘Oh wow, I’ve got to really think about how to do this.’ You know, is it the start of the next Lady Antebellum record or is it a solo thing or do I pitch it to other artists?”
Once his bandmates Hillary Scott and Dave Hayward started talking about taking a break after their latest tour, Charles said he knew the timing was right.
“I think the fans will understand why I had to do it. The timing of it, it was all these signs that said this is the time to do it. Of course I’ve probably had this in the back of my mind maybe for the past three or four years, the whole time knowing if I ever did this… this would just be a side project for fun.”
Charles performs his single “The Driver” with Dierks Bentley and Eric Paslay this evening on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. His solo tour kicks off November 28 in Cleveland, Ohio, with his CD set for release sometime in the next few months.
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