Brantley Gilbert spent all of 2017 taking his music to the people. Working the Rust Belt, the Heartland, the mid-South, the deep South and the Northeast, Gilbert knows it's the people who make - and keep - the music strong. As Billboard said of the Georgia born'n'raised songwriter, "Brantley Gilbert knows his audience. With a pair of platinum albums and nine of his singles being certified gold, platinum or multi-platinum, Gilbert's music strikes a chord with people."
And that's exactly why he's calling this year's tour The Ones That Like Me 2018. "People tell you all kinds of things about marketing," Gilbert says of his tour's name. "But I want to call it something that speaks to what this tour is: a chance for me to get together with all the people out there who get this music, who believe in these songs and live their lives just like the people back home do. We are all proud Americans, who try to stand up and do the right thing. That isn't marketing, that's life - and that's what my music is made of."
Having spent the summer playing - and selling out -- hard ticket dates in amphitheaters, as well as handful of festivals as headliner, Gilbert got to look the BG Nation in the eye. As he's home waiting for the birth of his first child, he's reflected on the power and the heart of those people, and he's even more determined to give them a show that gives back everything they are!
"I say every album is a chapter of my life," Gilbert explains, as the first 9 dates of his tour go onsale. "It's real, even when it's simple - because life is pretty simple, even when it's rough. 'One Hell of an Amen' looks some tough stuff in the eye, and stands tall. It's how I was raised, and I think everyone in the BG Nation feels it the same way. So these aren't just my songs, they're the songs of all of our lives. When I get back out there, man, we're gonna have even more life to lift up and celebrate."
The Ones That Like Me 2018 kicks off February 1 at DCU Center in Worcester, MA. The initial leg of what promises to be Gilbert's most gauntlet-throwing live experience yet - one that dials back the pyro and turns up the musical intensity - is slated for 36 concerts. Joining the hard-hitting songwriter is Staind's Aaron Lewis, who's been making country albums with iconic Nashville producer Buddy Cannon (Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Alison Krauss, Jamey Johnson).
With The Devil Don't Sleep (The Valory Music Co.) debuting at #1 for physical sales and Just As I Am winning the 2014 American Music Awards Favorite Country Album, Gilbert connects with the flyover. When Rolling Stone assessed the Best of Country and Americana so far this year, Gilbert's soul-scraping album - written completely by the
Georgia native - made it on the list alongside progressive truth tellers Willie Nelson, Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell,
Allison Krauss and Nikki Lane.
Deeming it "the soundtrack to Friday night in small towns everywhere," critic Jon
Freeman wrote, "Where the majority of bro-country's standard bearers switched up their approaches upon Chris Stapleton's coronation as country's new king - softening their sound with boy band-flavored pop or moving away from the party vibe to more adult songwriting - Gilbert stuck to his guns and released his best album yet with The Devil Don't Sleep."
Entertainment Weekly concurred declaring, "With swaggering guitars, catchy hooks, and a DGAF attitude, Devil promises to keep the 'One Hell of an Amen' singer at the top of the country charts." NPR offered, "the tough guy tentatively wading into introspective territory...Gilbert is acutely aware of what keeps his audience feeling connected to him - that his fans, branded the BG Nation, identify with his bellicose tone, his defiant posture, the contempt he aims at any hint of condescension, the slight suggestion of softness behind the sneer." For more ticket information and more dates visit BrantleyGilbert.com.
THE ONES THAT LIKE ME 2018
WITH
Aaron Lewis & Josh Phillips
2/1/18 DCU Center, Worcester, MA
2/2/18 GIANT Center, Hershey, PA
2/3/18 Times Union Center, Albany, NY
2/8/18 Bon Secours Wellness Arena, Greenville, SC
2/9/18 Thompson Boling Arena, Knoxville, TN
2/10/18 BancorpSouth Arena, Tupelo, MS
2/15/18 EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, VA
2/16/18 The
James Brown Arena, Augusta, GA
2/17/18 North Charleston Coliseum, N. Charleston, SC
3/24/18 Tuscaloosa Amphitheater, Tuscaloosa, AL
4/19/18 Lexington Center - Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
4/20/18 Salem Civic Center, Salem, VA
4/21/18 Eastern Kentucky Expo Center, Pikeville, KY
4/26/18 Wright State University Nutter Center, Dayton, OH
4/27/18 ISU Hulman Center, Terre Haute, IN
4/28/18
Walmart Amp - Arkansas Music Pavilion, Rogers, AR
5/10/18 US Cellular Center, Cedar Rapids, IA
5/11/18 The Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, MI
?
5/12/18 Erie Insurance Arena, Erie, PA
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