Tim Kelly Releases 'Old Friends' Single Ahead of Album Release

Tim Kelly shared "Old Friends," the third single from his forthcoming debut album Ride Through the Rain. The track was produced by his son, acclaimed artist Ruston Kelly, and is an ode to the relationships that fade with time, touching on themes of nostalgia, home and belonging which appear throughout the album.

He's also shared a live, in-studio performance of the song directed by Bryant Bural (Joy Oladokun, Judah & the Lion, Jon McLaughlin). Out November 5, Ride Through the Rain features 9 original songs written over the course of Tim's life; it's an overdue introduction of Tim Kelly as an artist with relatable real-life songs and a perspective honed over decades.

"It gets a bit surreal when I reflect on where I started to where things are now," says Tim Kelly. "I wrote 'Old Friends' when I was 18 years old; in the studio, I played the same guitar I had written the song on. After all these years the emotion and sentiment are still the same, but it actually feels more relevant to me now, in most ways, than it did then."

Tim Kelly had a promising musical career when he was a young man but put it on hold to work a white-collar job and raise his family. After touring with Ruston as his pedal steel guitarist and playing on his last two albums, Tim was prodded by Ruston to finally make a record that captured his own expressive voice. The album's first single, "Leave This Town" was featured on NPR's New Music Friday playlist; he also shared "Home," which featured singer-songwriter Lucie Silvas. Following the album announcement, Tim and Ruston appeared on SiriusXM's Sunday Service with Sarah Burke to discuss the album and their musical rapport.

Tim Kelly first became curious about the guitar after hearing his brother's vinyl copy of The Ventures' Walk, Don't Run. Later, after hearing Jackson Browne's version of "Take It Easy" for the first time, Kelly was inspired to learn pedal steel guitar. As a young adult, he played in bands, joined his college pop and jazz ensemble as lead guitarist, and won talent competitions as a singer-songwriter around Texas.

However, as a newlywed, he made the decision to follow in his father's footsteps and take a job in the company where his father had worked for decades, putting his music career on pause. "I kept the day job, but there have been very few days in my life that music hasn't been some part of it, even if only for an hour," Kelly says. Flash forward three decades and he's traded an office for a writer's room in Nashville and Ride Through the Rains fulfils the potential he showed many years ago.

Listen to the new track here:

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