Good music never has an expiration date!
Florida Georgia Line opened up about the impressive career they’ve built for themselves ahead of CMA Songwriters Series Presented by U.S. Bank performance at The Novo in Los Angeles on Wednesday, revealing they will never get used to the number of surreal moments they’ve experienced in the six years (with many more to come) since the release of their debut song “Cruise.”
“It never gets stale or complacent because we still feel like the new guys, in a sense of that excitement and what it means,” one – half of multi – platinum country duo Tyler Hubbard told PEOPLE.
“We love country music, period, we love country radio, we love our fans and it’s cool when all of that works.” “It’s such an exciting level that we’re at and we’re just super grateful, super thankful. It’s a hell of a ride,” he added. With a career that relies heavily on their strong songwriting roots, Hubbard, 31, and bandmate Brian Kelley, 33, couldn’t pass up an opportunity to display how their hits are created, taking the stage alongside their Tree Vibez Music writers Corey Crowder, RaeLynn and Canaan Smith, as well asErnest K. and HARDY.
“Even if we didn’t have a publishing deal, we would still be songwriters toughing it out in Nashville and chasing the dream,” said Kelley. “It’s just part of our DNA and who we are. It’s important to keep that tradition going. It’s a cool craft and our lives changed once we realized that we were songwriters — there was a direction that we could take and people we could look up to.”
In 2015, Florida Georgia Line launched Tree Vibez Music, their Nashville – based publishing company, to spread their passion for the art around the world, as well as inspire, mentor and create opportunities for gifted songwriters and artists.
“We just started Tree Vibez with a dream and a vision to be able to create opportunities for younger writers that maybe didn’t get to write full – time because they had to do other jobs – basically people who were like BK and me,” Hubbard explained. “It’s coming full-circle and it’s close to our heart.”
“We’re also entrepreneurs and love to start new companies and ventures, and this is just something we’ve always wanted to do,” he continued. “When the time came, we were really excited to meet new writers, people who we believe in, have a platform to be able to sign those guys, and to give them a space to be creative in.”
Though rising to the top has been anything but simple, Hubbard and Kelley are “super thankful for every bit of success.” In July, Florida Georgia Line made history, yet again, when they broke the record for most cumulative weeks at No. 1 (90 weeks, to be exact!) on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart – a record set by country icon George Strait in 1984.
“[Our songs] all have different lives and we sit around and choose what’s going to be the next single with our small, little team, and you send them out and pray for the best,” said Hubbard. “Radio play and streaming success really births new and more inspiration for us when we do get back to writing and recording even more – it just brings a new excitement and new season of songwriting.”
