Ruston Kelly Covers Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated” for New EP

Ruston Kelly has announced a new EP titled Dirt Emo, Vol. 2, set for release on March 14th. As a preview, he’s shared a cover of Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated” featuring fellow Nashville musician Annie DiRusso. Stream it below.

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Besides Kelly’s rendition of “Complicated,” the five-track collection features covers of songs like Morgan Wallen’s “Sand in My Boots.” “We went to expand the concept a bit, and include songs that were (in my opinion) emo-adjacent — as well as making it clear that ‘dirt emo’ doesn’t have to be a specific genre, per se, but more a mood or style in which I perform/reinterpret a song,” the artist said in a statement. “It’s like angsty tumbleweeds or weeping holding a banjo, etcetera.”

Kelly’s cover of Lavigne’s 2002 hit maintains the stickiness of the original, which he described as “a banger” especially for the likes of “an angsty teen at the local swim club, fantasizing a relationship with the lifeguard who’s older than you. You try to impress her by doing a double front flip off the diving board, but you belly flop — and that’s the moment you get her attention.”

To celebrate the release of Dirt Emo, Vol. 2, Kelly will be playing “Dirt Emo Nights” at Nashville’s The Basement East on March 10th and 11th (get tickets here). Pre-orders for the EP are ongoing.

Meanwhile, Lavigne is set to kick off a North American tour in May. Tickets can be purchased here.

Dirt Emo, Vol. 2 Artwork:

Dirt Emo, Vol. 2 Tracklist:
01. Flavor of the Weak
02. Sand in My Boots
03. Complicated
04. Only One
05. Slide