Florida Georgia Line has reached the end of its line.
Country stars Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard, who comprise the Grammy-nominated duo, played their final show together Wednesday at the Minnesota State Fair, where they thanked the crowd of 11,700 for their success and “the closing of an incredible chapter.”
“This is our last official concert as Florida Georgia Line,” Hubbard said when he greeted the crowd, Minnesota’s Star Tribune reported. “Let’s see what we got left in the tank.”
“You’ve enabled us to chase this crazy dream of writing songs and playing shows and hoping somebody will show up to listen, so thank you guys,” he added, according to Consequence of Sound. “It’s very exciting for us to look at what’s ahead, see what’s next. And the next chapter ahead is very exciting, but we wanna celebrate this chapter with you guys.”
The Star Tribune said that the “good-timey duo” gave each other high-fives and brotherly smiles during the grandstand set, but made it “hard to see their goodbyes as anything more than them putting on another act.”
Representatives for the band did not immediately respond Friday to the L.A. Times’ request for comment.
Kelley (the Florida half of the duo) and Hubbard (the Georgia half) announced in February that they “are taking a break from recording our music,” telling People that they’re “not going our separate ways” but are “being artists.”
“And so a couple years back, we started writing without each other and trying different writers, and now we’re both doing that with our music,” Kelley said at the time.
The partners formed the band in 2010. They released their debut single, “Cruise,” in 2012 and released five studio albums, amassing a handful of ACM, CMA, CMT Music and Billboard Music awards along the way. In 2019, their group performance “Meant to Be” with Bebe Rexha was nominated for a Grammy Award.
The singer-songwriters have since launched solo careers. Kelley debuted a solo album, “Sunshine State of Mind,” in 2021 and “American Spirit” this year. He’ll also resume the second wave of his Surf Post Sessions Tour in Florida on Friday. Hubbard has recorded the single “Undivided” with Tim McGraw, as well as the single “5 Foot 9" from his recently released album “Dancin’ in the Country.”
Rumors of a rift between the bandmates have been percolating for years, reportedly sparked by their diverging political views. While Hubbard downplayed that, he also shared that they went to therapy together.
In 2020, the artists had a publicly documented disagreement about the presidential election. Kelley hinted at support for President Donald Trump while Hubbard has been critical of the former leader. Meanwhile, Hubbard and his wife, Hayley, publicly expressed support for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, and both unfollowed Kelley on Instagram because they didn’t want to see his posts about the polarizing election.
“I unfollowed BK for a few days while we were in the middle of this election and everything going on,” Hubbard told SiriusXM’s Exit 209 that November. “And I even called him and told him, I said, ‘Hey buddy, I love you. And I love you a lot more in real life than on your Stories right now. That’s why I’m unfollowing you. Nothing personal. I still love you. You’re still my brother.’
“I just didn’t want to see it every time I opened Instagram,” he added. “And so it wasn’t a big deal.”
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