Charles Kelley‘s second solo album, Songs for a New Moon, will drop June 25.
“It’s probably the most present album I’ve ever made,” he told ABC’s Good Morning America. “It’s really an album about kind of letting go and holding on as well… letting go of the past, holding on to what matters.”
The record blends genres from to yacht rock to ’80s pop throughout its 16 songs.
“We never wanted it to sound like I was doing some kind of caricature… 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.”
There’s no shortage of personal inspiration, as Charles and wife Cassie are expecting a baby, joining their 9-year-old Ward.
“We’re in such a great healthy spot, probably the best spot we’ve ever been in our marriage and just as a family,” he reflects.
Getting to this point was no easy feat for Charles, who took time away from Lady A to work on his sobriety in 2022.
“I knew it for a long time… ” 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.”
Meanwhile, Lady A is still working on their next move, but some of the pressure of the past is missing.
“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,” he said. “And I was like, ‘Man, what if we actually took some time, let people miss us for a little bit?””
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