Welcome to Biscuits and Jam from Southern Living.

I'm Sid Evans, editor-in-chief of Southern Living magazine.

And in this episode, I'm talking to a singer-songwriter with a remarkable talent for channeling his life experiences into his music.

Ruston Kelly was born in Georgetown, South Carolina, but he moved all over with his family,

at one point spending a year in Belgium. In a rare twist for a country artist, he was a

competitive figure skater in high school. But despite having Olympic potential, he found himself craving

something more. Partly inspired by his father, he spent more and more time playing guitar and

writing songs, and he eventually made his way to Nashville. Since then, Rustin's story has been

something of a roller coaster ride. He struggled with an addiction that almost cost him his life,

and then he married and divorced one of the most famous women in the music business. Most recently,

he moved to a small town north of Nashville to spend the pandemic working on a historic house

and to write an honest and vulnerable new album called The Weakness.

All that and his grandmother's sausage balls on this week's Biscuits and Jam.

Rustin Kelly, welcome to Biscuits and Jam.

Thanks for having me, Sid.

Rustin, you were born in Georgetown, South Carolina, one of my favorite places on the planet.

I grew up going to Polly's Island when I was a kid, and I just love that part of the world.

How long were you actually there?

I was born in South Carolina in 1988 and lived there until about 1991.

A lot of my family, my dad's family, his side lived in Georgetown.

They still lived there.

And our house was right down the street from my grandma.

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