This article is an interview from March 13, 2013 with Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line. 

Growing up in Monroe, Tyler Hubbard didn’t attend many concerts in Athens or any of the surrounding areas.

But he’s making up for that now.

Hubbard, the Georgia half of the hot new country duo Florida Georgia Line, is riding on the success of the group’s first number hit, “Cruise” and their album, “Here’s to the Good Times,” which has reached No. 10 on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart.

And Hubbard and his bandmate, Brian Kelley (the Florida part of the group), are bringing their show to the Georgia Theatre.

The last eight months have been a whirlwind, from being independent artists to signing a record deal, having a No. 1 hit and reaching double platinum status.

Hubbard, 26, first took interest in music in church and played guitar throughout high school. But it was when he left Monroe for Nashville to attend Belmont University that everything started to fall into place.

“I was pretty passionate about music, and I went to college to get away from Georgia,” Hubbard said. “I slowly became more passionate about songwriting. … One thing led to the next, and BK and I met … and started writing songs together. It was both of our passions, and it worked out and here we are.”

Hubbard and Kelley currently are on the road opening up for fellow Georgian Luke Bryan. In between dates, the duo are headlining their own shows, such as the one in Athens.

“Luke is a great guy, and we are out here having a ball,” Hubbard said. “There’s no other tour I would want to be on right now for sure. It’s pretty amazing every night when the show is sold-out.”

At the end of March, the duo will join Taylor Swift on tour for three shows in New Jersey and then again for several shows in May and August.

After that, Hubbard hopes the duo will get a headlining tour of their own. But for now, Hubbard is looking forward to coming back to familiar territory.

“We played (Georgia Theatre) before, and it was a good time,” he said. “I’m excited to come back and play for a sold-out crowd.”