The Cadillac Three have a lot of friends in the music business. The trio have been friends with Florida Georgia Line since their very early days. Jaren Johnston and Kelby Ray stopped by the Taste of Country Nights studio and told us about FGL’s rather humble beginnings.

The two bands used to get together to play shows for 50 people in nightclubs. Those were the days of hard traveling, but FGL and TC3 have come a long way since then.

“It’s crazy how big that band is. We’ve been dear friends with them since the beginning. We’ve toured in vans with them,” Johnston tells us.

Tyler Hubbard wasn’t making ends meet in FGL’s early days, so he advertised his side hustle to make some extra cash.

“When we started touring, Tyler had his number on the van saying ‘detail service.’ To see them go from that to private jets, it’s this crazy situation. It’s pretty awesome.”

Even though Hubbard and BK are riding around in private jets and playing in huge stadiums, Ray insists that they’re still the same people they always were. They’re still having fun with their old friends on their current tour.

“They’re still the same guys. They’re still laid back,” Ray tells ToC Nights. “They call it the Dig Your Roots Tour, which is really cool. Jaren gets to get up and do a little songwriter round with them in the middle of the set. It’s really cool. It brings it down home and shows a little bit of what Nashville is.”

The Cadillac Three are continuing to go out on the road with their buds in FGL, and now they’ve got a new album to play! Their record, Bury Me in My Boots, dropped on Aug. 5, and Johnston says the album is “three years of life.” It’s now available on iTunes.

Sam Alex is the host of Taste of Country Nights radio, a syndicated night show which airs on more than 75 stations nationwide. Listen to highlights on iTunes or your Android device.

Read More: The Cadillac Three Look Back on Florida Georgia Line’s Roots | http://tasteofcountry.com/the-cadillac-three-florida-georgia-line-roots/?trackback=tsmclip