Talks & Entertainment

Listen to Ruston Kelly

Ruston Kelly has established himself as an essential songwriting voice, capable of transforming his unsparing and often-painful self-examination into moments of sublime catharsis. With a lyrical sensibility that constantly shifts from candid to poetic, the South Carolina-born singer-songwriter and guitarist imbues his songs with equal parts nuanced confession and punk-rock irreverence, mining inspiration from such eclectic sources as the Carter Family, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and seminal emo act Dashboard Confessional. His third full-length album The Weakness, his most personal and intimate collection of songs to date, was released to tremendous critical acclaim in early 2023.

Based in Nashville, Kelly first started playing guitar under the guidance of his dad, Tim “TK” Kelly, a pedal-steel guitarist who frequently performs and records with his son. At 17, he took off for Nashville and in 2013 landed a publishing deal with BMG Nashville. Along with penning songs for artists like Tim McGraw and Josh Abbott Band, he continued working on his own music and later made his debut with the widely praised EP, Halloween. After signing with Rounder Records, Kelly released Dying Star, an album that closely details his experience with addiction. The follow-up, 2020’s Shape & Destroy, was an up-close look at his experience in getting sober and finally facing the demons that led him to drug abuse in the first place.

Kelly’s most full-realized work to date, The Weakness, is a blisteringly honest but profoundly hopeful album revealing our vast potential to create strength and beauty from the most trying of experiences. Kelly’s third full-length album emerged as he began processing a number of life-altering changes including a very public divorce as well as immense upheaval in his immediate family.

Buoyed by recent stints opening for Maren Morris and Noah Kahan, Kelly headlines an acoustic tour in support of Weakness, Etc, an all-new EP comprised of seven songs recorded in tandem with The Weakness. The EP also includes tracks “Heaven Made The Darkness” and the plaintive “Belly of the Beast,” both available now. Weakness, Etc arrives via Rounder Records on March 22.