Brantley Gilbert Is PEOPLE's Kind of People

Between the initial run of The ones that Like Me Tour of arenas across the heartland, the birth of his first child Barrett and various charitable initiatives, Brantley Gilbert finally managed to get his schedule aligned with People. The news weekly and the high impact rock-country star have been circling to get out on the road for months, and now, the shoot is on.

"It's a big deal to be in a magazine like People," Gilbert says. "It's not where you'd go to find me, but I know back home a lot of people read it, and love it. And I love the idea that they're coming out on the road with us, because the road is almost my second home."

Award-winning photographer Dina Litovsky is joining The Ones That Like Me Tour at Dayton, Ohio's Nutter Center for a day of soundchecks, meet & greets and managing family with making music. The Wright State University arena will serve as the backdrop for the woman whose work has also appeared in Esquire, The New York Times, National Geographic, Wired and The New Yorker.

The story, which will appear in an upcoming issue, comes on the heels of Gilbert's Ascend Symphony rehearsals and announcement of "I Believe In Heroism," a t-shirt campaign to benefit the victims' families and the man who stopped the Waffle House shooter James Shaw. As so often happens with the man who likes to give back, the event came together quickly and went straight for the heart.

"Bad people do bad thngs. But good people people can do great things. Talking to James before we got up here, he said he's not a superhero, he's just a regular person. But I think there has to be some hero inside, that's where that kind of bravery comes from."

All the money from the t-shirts sold at Gilbert's May 4 show at Ascend Amphitheater and Dashboard Confessional's May 11 show at the Ryman will benefit Shaw and the four families. For I Believe In Heroism t-shirts, as well as to donate to the victims' families or James Shaw, clickwww.IBelieveinNashville.com.

Back on the road, the man who Entertainment Weekly lauded for his "swaggering guitars, catchy hooks and DGAF attitude" is gearing up for another weekend on the road through the Rust Belt. After Dayton, he heads into Terre Haute's Hulman Center at Indiana State and Rogers, AR's WalMart Arkansas Music Pavilion.

"For me, taking the music out to the people is what it's about," says the man who'll play a dozen dates with Kid Rock this fall. "I write these songs from my life, the people I know and love, but it's about how other people pull them into their lives that the music really kicks in."

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