Countrified contentment

Lady Antebellum / Josh Kelley / Edens Edge: Fri., Dec. 16, 7:30 p.m., Mohegan Sun Arena (255 Highland Park Blvd., Wilkes-Barre Twp.). $39.75-$59.75. Info: joshkelley.com, ticketmaster.com

Josh Kelley is the kind of guy you could easily kick back with, sipping whiskey and talking music.

Never mind that he’s a major recording artist, currently signed to MCA Nashville, with seven studio albums under his belt. Or that he’s married to one of Hollywood’s leading ladies, actress Katherine Heigl and is on the road with major country act Lady Antebellum (which happens to be his brother Charles’ band) for its “Own the Night” tour.

In reality, Kelley is the antithesis of a celebrity, or perhaps the ideal. He’s passionate about his craft, but modest about it. And he’s unabashedly sentimental when it comes to his loved ones.

“I’m going to be getting a tattoo today of a Sagittarius symbol and a 24 and 23, because my wife and daughter are Sagittarius, and their birthdays are the 23rd and 24th,” he said when he checked in with the Weekender from the tour’s stop in Las Vegas. “I might be tweeting that later.”

Kelley ended up getting the tattoo a few days later, when he did, in fact, tweet photos on his Twitter account. But his affections don’t end there. Being on the road with a sibling could have the potential to be disastrous, but ask Kelley about the setup, and all you’ll hear from him is pure elation.

“We’ve been best buddies since we were little,” Kelley, who hails from Augusta, Ga., explained in his slight Southern twang. “And we do everything together. We’ve been writing together, we played golf together yesterday, and we work out together.”

Fans will get to see both siblings in action when the tour stops at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre Twp. Friday, Dec. 16. Kelley’s most recent and first countrified album, “Georgia Clay,” will expose those fans to his venture into country music — an effort that, to Kelley, was nothing but natural.

“I’ve been trying to get into the country world for years,” he said. “I started off as a country artist when I was a kid. And I always considered myself kind of country and Southern rock with a little sprinkle of soul music in there, too.”

Though Kelley has been known for his more contemporary, pop-rock music, the title track and single off “Georgia Clay” took things to the next level for his official foray into the Southern genre, and it was borne from a night that sounds like it was straight out of a pickin’ party handbook.

“I’ve had that riff for a long time, and it’s just something that kind of was waiting for the right home,” Kelley said. “And I had my producer and my little brother, we were all hanging out at Charles’ house … I played that riff, and next thing you know, an hour and a half later, we were finished with the song.

“Music’s so random, and you definitely can’t put it in a nine-to-five job because inspiration hits you at such random times.”

‘RAININ’ WHISKEY’ — AND FAMILY

Life on the road, from Kelley’s perspective, seems to be a healthy mix of those off-the-cuff moments of creating and solemn hard work, on stage and off.

“We encourage each other, we work out every day … And so we stay in shape and we try to eat well, and then balance that out with a nice balanced diet of Kentucky bourbon,” he said, laughing.

Kelley may not be afraid to proclaim his love for whiskey — in the true spirit of country music, there’s even a song on his current album called “Rainin’ Whiskey” — but that’s not to say he overdoes it.

“I don’t have many habits, but I definitely love to have a cocktail after a show,” he shared. “That’s kind of our favorite little thing to do as sort of a band family. And then we’ll go and write, we’ll just create, and we’ll just have a good time. We like to be strict, but you don’t want to be too strict — you’ve got to live a little.”

While he spends time on the road working to move his career forward, Kelley, whose next single is the ode to his daughter, “Naleigh Moon,” who the couple adopted from South Korea in 2009, maintains what seems to be a harmonious relationship with his wife, who directed and stars with their daughter in the upcoming music video for the single.

“(They) do a good job of coming out on the road every now and then with me and then I come home every chance I get, even if I only have a couple days off,” Kelley said.“The distance does make the heart grow fonder. If (my wife) saw too much of me, I’d probably be annoying the crap out of her, so it probably works out pretty good,” he added, laughing.

Kelley seems to be settled into his personal and professional lives nicely, and perhaps that’s part of where his charisma comes from: A real sense of contentment.

“I just love country music because it’s all about the writing, it’s all about the story,” he said. “And I think that really is what mainly separates country music from anything, is that the story, that’s boss. And that’s what we’re all striving for, is to get an emotional reaction out of people.

“I think that’s the main reason why this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I’ll be writing country songs until I can’t hold a pen anymore.”

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