Ruston Kelly Debuts New Song 'Brave'

Acclaimed singer, songwriter and musician Ruston Kelly's new song, "Brave," is debuting today.

Watch the official music video!

Dedicated to his mom, the video was shot last month at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium on the night of Kelly's sold-out, headline debut performance. It also features footage and photos that highlight various periods of Kelly's life from his childhood to the present.

Reflecting on the song, Kelly shares, "'Brave' is a sword song. Writing it made me feel armed to face my lesser self. Because becoming a better version of myself requires taking account of the painful missteps along the way and fighting the anguish of facing them. And to ultimately (and hopefully) come out better than I was before. Taller and stronger. This is the highest achievement a human being can hope for, everything else is secondary."

In conjunction with the song, Kelly will release a new "Brave" t-shirt today with a design featuring his handwritten lyrics. All proceeds from t-shirt sales will be donated to MusiCares. Pre-order HERE.

The new song adds to a breakthrough series of years for Kelly, whose most recent project, Dirt Emo Vol. 1, was released this past fall via Rounder Records (stream/purchase here). Co-produced by Kelly and Jarrad K, the eight-song release consists of Kelly's favorite emo songs including a rendition of Dashboard Confessional's "Screaming Infidelities" featuring the band's lead singer Chris Carrabba, a live cover of Wheatus' "Teenage Dirtbag" and new versions of The Carter Family's "Weeping Willow" and Taylor Swift's "All Too Well."

Kelly's version of "All Too Well" was released to widespread critical praise and garnered attention from Swift herself. Billboard declared, "Kelly puts his own haunting spin on the track with yearning vocals, delicate percussion and soaring instrumentation," while UPROXX praised, "his rendition is a beautiful tribute to the raw emotionality of the original. He makes the song his own with atmospheric instrumentals, replacing Swift's driving percussion with drums that sound more soft and searching."

The EP follows the release of Kelly's critically acclaimed, full-length debut album, Dying Star, in the fall of 2018 (purchase/stream here). Co-produced by Kelly and Jarrad K, Dying Star landed on several "Best of 2018" lists including Rolling Stone, Paste, UPROXX, American Songwriter and NPR Music, which declared, "Kelly digs down deep on Dying Star to fearlessly put forth a set of songs steeped in emotional twists, turns and complications...This here is powerful stuff."

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