Ruston Samuel Kelly (born July 31, 1988) is an American singer-songwriter. After landing a publishing deal with BMG Nashville in 2013, he got his first cut with

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those albu ...

's song "Nashville Without You", which appeared on McGraw's album '' Two Lanes of Freedom''. Following a record deal with

Razor & Tie Razor & Tie was an American entertainment company that consisted of a record label and a music publishing company. It was established in 1990 by Craig Balsam and Cliff Chenfeld. Based in New York City (with additional offices in Los Angeles and ...

's Washington Square, he released his debut EP ''Halloween'' produced by

Mike Mogis Michael Riley Mogis (born May 16, 1974) is an American producer/engineer and multi-instrumentalist who, along with his brother A.J. Mogis, founded Presto! Recording Studios (previously known as Dead Space Recording and, earlier, Whoopass Record ...

in 2017. In 2018 Kelly signed with

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by Al ...

and released his debut studio album '' Dying Star'' to generally favorable critical appraisal.

Personal life

Ruston Kelly was born in South Carolina. His family moved frequently because of his father's job. He comes from a musical family. He began playing music and writing songs as a teenager. Kelly attended

Belmont University Belmont University is a private Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee. Descended from Belmont Women's College, founded in 1890 by schoolteachers Ida Hood and Susan Heron, the institution was incorporated in 1951 as Belmont College. It b ...

in Nashville, Tennessee. Kelly struggled with drug addiction for years and decided to pursue a life of sobriety following an overdose in December 2015. Regarding his recovery he stated, "I went to rehab once, but it was all I could afford, so it was this kind of rehab in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

." Kelly met singer

Kacey Musgraves Kacey Lee Musgraves (born August 21, 1988) is an American country singer. She has won six Grammy Awards, seven Country Music Association Awards, and three Academy of Country Music Awards. Musgraves self-released three solo albums and one as Tex ...

after performing at the

Bluebird Café The Bluebird Café is a 90-seat music club in Nashville, Tennessee that opened in 1982. The club features acoustic music performed by both established singer-songwriters, and cover artists. The Bluebird receives over 70,000 visitors annually. T ...

in Nashville in March 2016. They married in October 2017 and filed for divorce in July 2020.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Dying Star'' (2018) * '' Shape & Destroy'' (2020) * ''The Weakness'' (2023)

EPs

* ''The Bootleg Sessions'' (2013) * ''Halloween'' (2017) * ''Dirt Emo Vol. 1'' (2019)

Singles

* "Asshole (Demo)" (2018) * "Weeping Willow" (2019) * "Brave" (2020) * "

O Holy Night "O Holy Night" (original title: ) is a well-known sacred song for Christmas performance. Originally based on a French-language poem by poet Placide Cappeau, written in 1843, with the first line (Midnight, Christian, is the solemn hour) that c ...

" (2022) * "The Weakness" (2023)

Tours

;Headlining *Dying Star Fall Tour (2018–2019) *Shape and Destroy Fall Tour (2021) ;Opening act * Port Saint Joe Tour (2019)

Songwriting contributions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Ruston 1988 births Living people American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Country musicians from South Carolina Razor & Tie artists Rounder Records artists