Brantley Gilbert has always pushed the edge when it comes to music. So when it comes to striking out on the road with his BLACK OUT TOUR, it figures the man with back-to-back Platinum albums would never settle for North America alone. Instead, the renegade Country star is hitting the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia, in addition to playing arenas across Canada and the U.S.
“If you’re gonna take it on the road, do it,” the man who won last year’s American Music Award for Favorite Country Album explains. “If you’re gonna push the music, don’t be afraid to put it out there. People around the world get the idea about what we do: these songs are about living life in hard places, but standing up when you do. That’s a universal thing, so let’s do it.”
Kicking off November 11 at Melkweg in Amsterdam, the rough’n’raw songwriter who just hit #1 with “One Hell Of An Amen,” the Gold-certified celebration of living and dying with valor, will swing through Hamburg’s Fabrik, Munich’s Technikum and Stuttgart’s Im Wizemann before heading to Glasgow’s Oran Mor and a sweep through England’s Manchester Academy, the Birmingham Institute Library and London’s storied Shepard’s Bush Empire. An international run more favored by harder rock acts, Brantley handily straddles the line.
“Music is music,” says the man who also wrote Jason Aldean’s chart-toppers “Dirt Road Anthem” and “My Kinda Party.” “I don’t care what you call it, as long as you let me play it my way. I know where these songs came from, what they mean, how they played out – and that is how me and the boys try to bring’em.”
The Georgia-born-and-raised songwriter hits the U.S. January 28 in Saginaw, Michigan for 27 North American dates. The run pauses as Brantley ventures to Queensland, Australia for the CMC Rocks QLD at Willowbank Raceway on March 12.
“This is why I do this,” Brantley says. “To take it to the people. I want to rock hard and tell the truth and see it in their eyes. My fans know what I’m talking about, and they come for that reason. It’s not for everybody, but it’s its own kind of Country… and being out in some of the secondary markets, the kind of places I came up, that feels just like home.”
Tickets for the arena dates will be on sale to the general public beginning Friday, November 6 with a special presale for members of the BG Nation. For more information, visit www.brantleygilbert.com.
Brantley Gilbert: BLACK OUT TOUR Dates
Nov. 11 Melkweg Amsterdam, Netherlands
Nov. 12 Fabrik Hamburg, Germany
Nov. 13 Technikum Munich, Germany
Nov. 14 Im Wizemann Stuttgart, Germany
Nov. 17 Oran Mor Glasgow, Scotland
Nov. 18 Manchester Academy Manchester, England
Nov. 19 Birmingham Institute Library Birmingham, England
Nov. 20 O2 Shephard’s Bush Empire London, England
Jan. 28 Dow Event Center Saginaw, MI
Jan 29 Rupp Arena Lexington, KY
Jan. 30 ISU Hulman Center Terre Haute, IN
Feb. 4 James Brown Arena Augusta, GA
Feb. 5 CFE Arena – University of Central Florida Orlando, FL
Feb. 6 Donald L Tucker County Civic Ctr Tallahassee, FL
Feb. 11 Rogers K Rock Arena Kingston, Ontario
Feb. 12 GM Center Oshawa, Ontario
Feb. 13 Budweiser Gardens London, Ontario
Feb. 18 Huntington Center Toledo, OH
Feb. 19 Nutter Center Dayton, OH
Feb. 20 Turning Stone Resort & Casino Verona, NY
Feb. 24 AT&T Center Rodeo San Antonio, TX
Feb. 25 Chesapeake Energy Arena Oklahoma City, OK
Feb. 26 ASU Convention Center Jonesboro, AR
Feb. 27 BanCorp South Center Tupelo, MS
March 3 Rushmore Plaza Ice Arena Rapid City, SD
March 4 Brick Breeden Fieldhouse Bozeman, MT
March 12 CMC Rocks QLD: Willowbank Raceway Queensland, Australia
April 14 Giant Center Hershey, PA
April 15 Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, TN
April 16 Salem Civic Center Salem, VA
April 21 Swiftel Center Brookings, SD
April 22 Bismark Civic Center Arena Bismark, ND
April 23 Target Center Minneapolis, MN
April 28 Resch Center Green Bay, WI
April 29 US Cellular Center Cedar Rapids, IA
April 30 Pinnacle Bank Arena Lincoln, NE.
