Florida Georgia Line Previews Album, Samples Whiskey At Pandora Presents

Florida Georgia Line was the center of an album preview, whiskey tasting and Pandora Presents show at OZ Arts Nashville on Tuesday (August 2).

In preparation for the Aug. 26 launch of Dig Your Roots, the duo’s third studio album and first on the newly-renamed BMLG Records, industry members and VIP guests were invited to preview a handful of songs from the 15-track project. Samples of the band’s Old Camp peach- and pecan-infused whiskey, developed alongside Proximo Spirits, were also highlighted. The brand is rumored to hit shelves later this month.

Before the show began, FGL’s Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley were welcomed to the stage by host Alecia Davis for a 30-minute Q&A to discuss the new endeavors.

“We started off with maybe 75 songs. Once we get it down to about 20 songs, it really becomes difficult,” said Hubbard of the song selection process for Dig Your Roots. “All the songs have a really special meaning in some form or fashion. ‘Grow Old’ will probably never be a single, but it was Hayley and I’s first dance at our wedding. ‘While He’s Still Around’ is a special song that BK sings that we wrote years ago after my dad passed, and his dad almost passed. There’s a lot of depth to this record.”

“May We All,” featuring Tim McGraw, was released to radio shortly before the party as the follow-up to the No. 1 hit, “H.O.L.Y.” A music video for “May We All” is expected to be released soon.

Pandora listeners were lined up for hours in the evening heat outside of OZ Arts in hopes of getting to attend the event. Around a dozen songs were featured, including the new tunes “Smooth,” “Dig Your Roots,” “Life Is A Honeymoon,” and “May We All.” While the latter two album tracks feature Ziggy Marley and McGraw, respectively, there were no surprise guests during the evening.

Additional hits emerged from the superstar duo’s previous projects, including “Anything Goes,” “Confession,” “Shine On,” and megahit “Cruise.”

Florida Georgia Line is the most-played artist on Pandora’s second-biggest station, Today’s Country, with more than 3.7 million spins. Wrapping the Q&A, the duo offered their insight into declining music sales and the growth in popularity of streaming services.

Hubbard said, “Nobody’s selling 3.7 million copies of anything anymore. When we hear the numbers of streams, obviously that’s what’s going on. I personally love it. I think any way to get the music out is good. The music industry is exciting because it’s always evolving. As soon as we think we have it figured out and are making money, guess what? We don’t, and everyone’s broke again.”

He continued, “It is exciting and cool to think where we’ll be in five years, and how people will be consuming music and how we’re going to get ahead of the curve. I think we’re slowly figuring out how streaming is going to benefit all of us—songwriters included. There’s an equation that everyone’s been working on the last few years and scared of, but I think it’s something we should embrace and evolve with and re-roll the business model to make it work with us.”

Dig Your Roots track list:
1. “Smooth” (Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Nicolle Galyon, Jordan Schmidt)
2. “Dig Your Roots” (Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Jerry Flowers, Brett James, Ernest Keith Smith, Will Weatherly)
3. “Life Is A Honeymoon” featuring Ziggy Marley (Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Cary Barlowe, David Marley, Jordan Schmidt)
4. “H.O.L.Y.” (busbee, Nate Cyphert, William Wiik Larsen)
5. “Island” (Ryan Hurd, Matt McGinn, Jordan Schmidt)
6. “May We All” featuring Tim McGraw (Rodney Clawson, Jamie Moore)
7. “Summerland” (Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Jesse Frasure, Chris Tompkins)
8. “Lifer” (Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Jordan Schmidt)
9. “Good Girl, Bad Boy” (Rodney Clawson, Zach Crowell, Matt Jenkins)
10. “Wish You Were On It” (Smith Ahnquist, Hunter Phelps, Jameson Rodgers, Will Weatherly)
11. “God, Your Mama, and Me” featuring The Backstreet Boys (Josh Kear, Hillary Lindsey, Gordie Sampson)
12. “Music Is Healing” (Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Jordan Schmidt, Craig Wiseman)
13. “While He’s Still Around” (Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Chase Rice, Jesse Rice, Jordan Schmidt, Craig Wiseman)
14. “Grow Old” (Zachary Kale, Canaan Smith)
15. “Heatwave” (Tyler Hubbard, Brian Kelley, Kyle Fishman, Jordan Schmidt, Brad Warren, Brett Warren)