Gilbert collaborated with Colt Ford, Lukas Nelson and Willie Nelson on “Welcome To Hazeville.” He shared that the song originated by the idea of where Gilbert came from in Maysville, Georgia, so they changed the town’s name to “Hazeville” and he wrote the song with fellow songwriters Rodney Clawson and Andrew DeRoberts.
He expressed that he is extremely proud of “What Happens In A Small Town,” his spitfire collaboration with Lindsay Ell. “Lindsay is just an incredible human being,” he admitted. “She’s a guitar slayer and you don’t see that very often. She’s a true road warrior. It has been an honor and a privilege to sing with her. We have been excited about it watching it go up the charts.”
“Lindsay is actually out on tour with us, along with Michael Ray. That will be a really good time,” he said.
He is super pumped about his “Not Like Us” headlining tour, which kicks off on June 20 at the Riverbend Music Center Cincinnati, Ohio. On August 24, he will be bringing the “Not Like Us Tour” to the Xfinity Theater in Hartford, Connecticut, and on August 30 at the Darien Lake Amphitheater in Darien Center, New York, and he is very much looking forward to these shows. “I can’t wait to get out on the road and slam some music. It’s going to be a great tour. It’s going to be wide open. There will be a lot of energy,” he said.
On being an artist in the digital age of music, Gilbert acknowledged that “it’s different” and it “takes some time to get used to.” “The way people consume music is so much different than it used to be,” he said. “Technology gives us the opportunity to do things a little bit differently. We can have a single out at radio, and release other music on the platforms. There are no rules anymore. That gives us the opportunity for songs to have lives of their own.”
He also spoke fondly about the recent passage of the Music Modernization Act (MMA). “It’s always good to see people back up songwriters and artists. Obviously, I’ve spent a lot of my time with songwriters and being a songwriter myself. It’s good to feel like somebody has your back, especially in the political world,” he said.
Gilbert noted that he loves the recent resurgence of vinyl. “Vinyl is just a different listen. It makes you take a minute to listen closer,” he said. “There is a purity to vinyl. It is a really cool time to be a songwriter and a really cool time to be an artist.”
One of the most poignant moments in his professional career was when staff sergeant Justin Patterson presented Gilbert with his Purple Heart Award, which moved Gilbert.
“Justin and I talk all the time and it has evolved into such a cool friendship. It has been an awesome relationship and he travels around and does a lot of work with a lot of organizations. He is involved with Hot Rod Warriors, and he goes out and shares his life story and testimony. He is an amazing man and Justin is somebody I will cherish for the rest of my life,” he said.
He listed Reba McEntire as his dream female collaboration choice in music. “That would be a bucket list item for sure. She remembers you when she meets you and she has been nothing but an angel every time I’ve ever met her. Reba is a class act,” he said.
In his personal life, he shared that he and his wife, Amber, are expected their second baby, a girl in September of 2019. “There is a lot going on,” he admitted. “I am ready for the baby to be here, hopefully, happy and healthy. I guess I have 15 or 16 good years left before prison,” he said, jokingly.
Gilbert praised Amber for being an “amazing woman.” “God has blessed me with her,” he said. “She is one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen and she is an absolutely unbelievable mother. I never worry about my son and I am very lucky to have her. Amber really is a special person.”
He is already a father to a son Barrett Hardy-Clay, who was born on November 11, 2017. “He’s a little bit opinionated and he likes to be heard,” he said with a laugh.
The only downside to fatherhood is that Gilbert is now stuck with a dad bod. “Getting rid of this ‘dad bod’ is not easy. There is something that happened at 32, where my body has made it harder for me to stay in shape,” he said.
Back in March of 2012, Gilbert performed at the 86th floor of the Empire State Building Observatory in New York City. “That was absolutely crazy. The wall was so low,” he recalled.
He defined the word success as “waking up every day and thinking of ways that we can be better.” “Making short-term goals have been more effective and more productive for me,” he admitted. “We are going to ride this thing until the wheels fall off, and when the wheels fall off, we will pick out some new ones and put them on, and ride them until they fall off.”
For his fans, Gilbert concluded, “I am excited for people to hear my entire project. There are a lot of songs on this record that nobody has heard yet.”
“Welcome to Hazeville” is available on iTunes and on Spotify.
To learn more about country mega-star Brantley Gilbert, check out his official website and his Facebook page.
