# Ruston Kelly

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**Ruston Samuel Kelly** (born July 31, 1988) is an American singer-songwriter. After signing with the music publisher [BMG Nashville](/source/BMG_Rights_Management) in 2013, his song "Nashville Without You" appeared on [Tim McGraw](/source/Tim_McGraw)'s album *[Two Lanes of Freedom](/source/Two_Lanes_of_Freedom)*.[1] Following a record deal with [Razor & Tie](/source/Razor_%26_Tie)'s Washington Square, he released his debut EP, *Halloween*, produced by [Mike Mogis](/source/Mike_Mogis) in 2017.[2]

In 2018, Kelly signed with [Rounder Records](/source/Rounder_Records) and released his debut studio album, *[Dying Star](/source/Dying_Star_(album))*, to generally favorable critical reviews.[3]

In 2020, Kelly released *[Shape & Destroy](/source/Shape_%26_Destroy)*.

## Personal life

Ruston Kelly was born in South Carolina and comes from a musical family.[4] The family moved frequently because of his father's job, and he lived in [Wyoming, Ohio](/source/Wyoming,_Ohio) for nearly eight years.[5] Kelly began playing music and writing songs when he was a teenager.[6] Kelly attended [Belmont University](/source/Belmont_University) 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](/source/Drug_rehabilitation) once, but it was all I could afford, so it was this kind of rehab in North Carolina."[7]

Kelly met singer [Kacey Musgraves](/source/Kacey_Musgraves) after performing at the [Bluebird Café](/source/Bluebird_Caf%C3%A9) in Nashville in March 2016.[8] They married in October 2017[9] and filed for divorce in July 2020.[10]

## Discography

### Studio albums

- *[Dying Star](/source/Dying_Star_(album))* (2018)
- *[Shape & Destroy](/source/Shape_%26_Destroy)* (2020)
- *[The Weakness](/source/The_Weakness_(Ruston_Kelly_album))* (2023)[11]
- *Pale, Through the Window* (2025)

### EPs

- *The Bootleg Sessions* (2013)
- *Halloween* (2017)
- *Dirt Emo Vol. 1* (2019)
- *Weakness, Etc.* (2024)
- *Dirt Emo Vol. 2* (2025)

### Singles

- "Asshole (Demo)" (2018)
- "Mockingbird" (2018) - No. 25 [Adult Alternative Airplay](/source/Adult_Alternative_Airplay)[12]
- "Weeping Willow" (2019)
- "Brave" (2020)
- "[O Holy Night](/source/O_Holy_Night)" (2022)
- "The Weakness" (2023)[13] - No. 35 Adult Alternative Airplay

## Tours

**Headlining**

- Dying Star Fall Tour (2018–2019)[14]
- Shape and Destroy Fall Tour (2021)
- The Weakness Tour (2023)
- Too Chill to Kill Tour (2024)

**Opening act**

- [Port Saint Joe Tour](/source/Port_Saint_Joe_(album)) (for [Brothers Osborne](/source/Brothers_Osborne)) (2019)[15]
- The Stick Season Tour (for [Noah Kahan](/source/Noah_Kahan)) (2023)

## Songwriting contributions

Year Artist Album Title Co-writers 2013 Tim McGraw Two Lanes of Freedom "Nashville Without You" Kyle Jacobs, Joe Leathers 2014 Josh Abbott Band Tuesday Night EP "Tuesday Night" Josh Abbott 2015 Front Row Seat "Front Row Seat" Brian Davis 2016 Rob Baird Wrong Side of the River "Run of Good Luck" Rob Baird Hayes Carll Lovers and Leavers "Love Is So Easy" Hayes Carll 2018 Lucie Silvas E.G.O. "Just for the Record" Lucie Silvas, Jarrad Kritzstein

[2]

## References

1. McKenna, Brittney (2018-09-07). ["Ruston Kelly on New Album *Dying Star* and Why Women Are Superior Songwriters"](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/ruston-kelly-on-new-album-dying-star-and-why-women-are-superior-songwriters-720670/). *Rolling Stone*. Retrieved February 22, 2019.

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. ["Ruston Kelly - Biography"](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ruston-kelly-mn0003058280/biography). *AllMusic*. Retrieved February 22, 2019.

1. ["Dying Star by Ruston Kelly"](https://www.metacritic.com/music/dying-star/ruston-kelly). *Metacritic*. Retrieved February 22, 2019.

1. DeSantis, Rachel (November 5, 2021). ["Tim Kelly's New Album with Son Ruston Kelly Proves It's Never Too Late to Realize a Dream"](https://people.com/country/tim-kelly-releases-ride-through-the-rain-son-ruston/). *people.com*. Retrieved 2021-11-08.

1. ["Ruston Kelly Biography, Songs, & Albums"](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ruston-kelly-mn0003058280/biography). *AllMusic*. Retrieved 2021-11-08.

1. ["Ruston Kelly"](https://rounder.com/artist/ruston-kelly/). *Rounder Records*. Retrieved 2021-11-08.

1. Gravley, Garrett (2019-01-16). ["Ruston Kelly Went Through Hell, and Made a Few Stops in California On the Way Back"](https://www.dallasobserver.com/music/things-to-do-in-dallas-ruston-kelly-at-house-of-blues-on-jan-24-11466424). *Dallas Observer*. Retrieved March 4, 2019.

1. Despres, Tricia. ["Kacey Musgraves on Finding Love with Ruston Kelly"](http://tasteofcountry.com/how-did-kacey-musgraves-ruston-kelly-meet/). *Taste of Country*. Retrieved February 22, 2019.

1. Milano, Marie. ["Kacey Musgraves Husband Ruston Kelly"](https://www.countryliving.com/life/entertainment/a25048527/kacey-musgraves-husband-ruston-kelly/). *Country Living*. Retrieved February 22, 2019.

1. ["Reps: Singers Kacey Musgraves, Ruston Kelly file for divorce"](https://apnews.com/article/tn-state-wire-music-us-news-ap-top-news-kacey-musgraves-a8974a1f092366423465c88f6237855b). *Apnews.com*. 20 April 2021. Retrieved 10 April 2023.

1. Crowmaster (January 17, 2023). "My third album The Weakness produced by @natemercereau is coming April 7. Title track out now as well as preorder/merch/etc [https://t.co/rEVi2sAydq](https://t.co/rEVi2sAydq) [https://t.co/ncqBWgBQg6](https://t.co/ncqBWgBQg6)". No. 1615381839144972290. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230315112707/https://twitter.com/RustonKelly/status/1615381839144972290) March 15, 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 28, 2023.

1. ["Ruston Kelly - Chart History"](https://www.billboard.com/artist/ruston-kelly/). *Billboard*. Retrieved March 3, 2023.

1. ["Triple A Future Releases"](https://www.allaccess.com/triple-a/future-releases). All Access Music Group. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20221213102914/https://www.allaccess.com/triple-a/future-releases) December 13, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 13, 2022.

1. ["Ruston Kelly - Tour"](https://web.archive.org/web/20190222204638/https://www.rustonkelly.com/tour). *Ruston Kelly*. Archived from [the original](https://www.rustonkelly.com/tour) on February 22, 2019. Retrieved February 22, 2019.

1. Gage, Jeff (2018-11-12). ["Brothers Osborne Extend Headlining Tour With New 2019 Dates"](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/brothers-osborne-2019-tour-dates-754787/). *Rolling Stone*. Retrieved February 22, 2019.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ruston Kelly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruston_Kelly) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruston_Kelly?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.