Charles Kelley, founding member of the massively popular country band Lady A, has announced a brand-new solo album, "Songs For A New Moon," out June 25.
As the title would indicate, Kelley said the new project stems from several fresh pages in his life: Kelley is welcoming his second child, he is nearly three years sober and he's preparing to release an album that spans new genres for the artist.
"It's probably the most present album I've ever made," Kelley said in an interview with "Good Morning America" Digital this week.
Lady A talks new name, new album 'What a Song Can Do' and the power of music"It's really an album about kind of letting go and holding on as well. You know, letting go of the past, holding on to what matters."
Perhaps most notably, "Songs For A New Moon" blends genres from to yacht rock to country throughout its 16-song track list.
One genre Kelley emphasized in the new album was a modern take on 1980s pop. Kelley said he wanted to use '80s tunes in a way that paid homage to the era.
"We never wanted it to sound like I was doing some kind of caricature, so to speak, of the 80s. I never wanted to be like, 'Alright, I'll go and I'm gonna get really silly with this and make fun,'" he said. "I feel like some of the best music to me was made during that time."
Kelley also touched on his experience recording music separate from Lady A, the band with which he has been a member since its 2006 founding.
He said working on projects on his own allows him to tell his own stories, ones that are more personal to him specifically than ones he would make with the six-time Grammy-winning band.
The singer has no shortage of personal inspiration, as he recently announced he and his wife are expecting a baby.
"I just feel like we're in such a great healthy spot, probably the best spot we've ever been in our marriage and just as a family," said Kelley.
The singer already shares a son, 9-year-old Ward, with his wife Cassie Kelley.
Getting to this point was no easy feat for Kelley, who took time away from Lady A to work on alcohol dependency in 2022.
Charles Kelley drops new live video of 'As Far As You Could,' his 'goodbye letter to alcohol'"I knew it for a long time, to be honest with you," he said. "I kind of was waiting for something to happen and make me kind of do it. And luckily, I had a little bit what they would almost call a soft landing with it. Nothing absolutely detrimental happened."
Sobriety, he said, "gets easier and easier as you go."
Kelley also talked about how sobriety inspired his music, specifically while writing one of the "North Star" songs on the album, "Can't Lose You."
"When we started writing it, I said, 'Guys, this is reminding me so much of how I felt when I was at treatment,'" he said. "You're feeling a little bit down on yourself, and like, 'Oh my gosh. What is my life?' And then as you kind of progress, it's like, 'All right, I can do this. I'm feeling kind of the beginning of the next chapter. I'm feeling the hope. I'm feeling the confidence again.' And that's kind of what that song is about."
Kelley said the lessons he learned while getting sober have been transferable to all elements of life.
"You're talking about life and struggles, anxiety, pressures, your past, a lot of times we don't even talk about alcohol," he said. "That's kind of a symptom, so to speak, of what really is underlying underneath you -- fear, a lot of those things. And so I think when you kind of can address those, they're not as scary anymore."
As for Lady A, Kelley said they are still writing and working on their next move, but some of the self-imposed pressure of the past isn't quite there
"We feel like we used to just be in such a hamster wheel of you make a record, you tour, you make another record, you tour. And I was like, 'Man, what if we actually took some time, let people miss us for a little bit? But we got to make a great record."
