Brantley Gilbert grew up in Jefferson, Ga. within earshot of Athens, home of R.E.M., the B-52s and other alternative rockers. Gilbert never lost his love for music with an edgy spirit, yet as he started exploring his capacity for writing and performing, an ability to document the pleasures and pains, frustrations and triumphs of life asserted itself as well and nudged him closer to Country’s truth-telling tradition.

After surviving a potentially fatal automobile accident, Gilbert resolved to follow his muse into music. He began as a solo act, but as his rock ‘n’ roll side started getting restless, he beefed up his presentation and began pumping out his songs over a bed of slamming drums and snarling electric guitar.

The momentum stirred by his shows bore Gilbert to Nashville, where he signed with Warner/Chappell Music Publishing, scored several cuts with other artists and ultimately inked his own record deal with Average Joe’s Entertainment. The result is Halfway to Heaven, produced by Gilbert, The Atom Brothers, Jonathan Waggoner and Jess Franklin. Each of these dozen songs was co-written by Gilbert and most, including the ballads, delivered with a confident bravado powered by his fusion of Country narrative lyricism and willingness to rock the house hard.

On the album’s debut single, “Kick It in the Sticks,” which Gilbert wrote with Rhett Akins and Ben Hayslip, this combination rings loud and true. After a barely audible chuckle, Gilbert cranks the ignition and we’re off into a landscape where AC/DC and George Strait share space on the radio dial, moonshine whiskey pours near barbed wire fences, “jacked up trucks” are “covered in mud,” and “the hippies and the hicks” party with “jocks and bikers.” It’s not exactly a pastoral vision, but as a portrait of what Gilbert dubs “the dirty, dirty South,” it is both exhilarating and totally believable.

IN HIS OWN WORDS Q&A

DREAM DUET PARTNER 
“Wynonna Judd.” 

CD IN YOUR STEREO 
“Slipknot.” 

SONG YOU SING IN THE SHOWER 
“‘I’m Too Sexy,’ by Right Said Fred.” 

LUCKY CHARM 
“Spur on my left boot.” 

PET PEEVE 
“Ferrets.”

Brantley Gilbert performs at the Chevy Music Stage in Downtown Nashville on
Friday, June 11 during the 2010 CMA Music Festival.
Photographer: John Russell / CMA

 

 

ALBANY, Ga. — Six years ago, a young, 19-year-old Brantley Gilbert survived being ejected through the back windshield of his truck in an accident that might have been as much an act of divine providence as it was potentially deadly.

Gilbert survived and realized that life offered no guarantees, and it was time to live in the "now".

"That was a turning point in my life," Gilbert, who will perform June 19 at the Albany Civic Center. "I never thought that could happen to me. I always thought it happened to other people. I'd seen it happen to other people."

A native of Jefferson, Ga., Gilbert began writing music as a form of therapy.
"I was mad at the world," he said, "and writing songs was one of the only things that made me feel alive."

Gilbert gradually started putting together enough songs for a debut album release, all the time playing acoustic shows to appreciative crowds.

"We went from these acoustic shows to a bona fide country-rock-soul show that is wide-ass open," Gilbert said. "Even when we play a ballad, it's high energy."

His debut album, "A Modern Day Prodigal Son," featured such hit singles as "G.R.I.T.S." and "Whenever We're Alone."

His sophomore release, "Halfway To Heaven," peaked at No. 2 on the iTunes Country Album chart, and No. 1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Album chart for all genres. It features the single "Kick It in the Streets."
Gilbert's rock-infused music doesn't exactly fit the Nashville style, but that's OK with him.

Check out Brantley's CMA Music Fest Schedule for Friday, June 11, 2010: