On his latest studio project for BMLG’s The Valory Music Co., Brantley Gilbert hopes to add to his collection of hardware, which includes two Platinum albums and a Gold-selling project. With Fire & Brimstone, which released Oct. 4, he certainly adds to his reputation as a songwriter adept at crafting both driving crowd-pleasers and detailed heart-tuggers. While Brantley wrote or co-wrote every track on the project, he also welcomes a string of his fellow artists to the recording.

The album features a collaboration with Lindsay Ell, “What Happens In A Small Town,” which is nominated for Musical Event of the Year at this year’s CMA Awards, and is in the Top 10 on the country singles charts.

“Scott Borchetta and I and management had been talking about doing a duet at some point but it was just about finding the right song,” he tells MusicRow Magazine. “When we wrote this song it seemed like a duet from the word go. We put some different ideas and Scott brought up Lindsay’s name and it just clicked.

“Her name is just synonymous with hard work and how much time she puts into her craft. She’s the real deal, has a great voice and just a guitar slinger. I mean, the way she plays makes me want to put my guitar in the case and never play it again.”

 

“Welcome To Hazeville” reunites him with “Dirt Road Anthem” co-writer Colt Ford; the track was also co-written by Lukas Nelson. Fittingly, legendary country song stylist and longtime marijuana advocate Willie Nelson wraps the song’s final vocal line.

“We had a big group of us out on the road that weekend. I left that part for Colt to do his thing. It’s a good timin’ song and we can connect the dots on what it’s about, just good times. Considering what the song’s about, who wouldn’t want Willie Nelson on a record? Colt and I’s first tour was Willie Nelson’s Throwdown Tour and Lukas was on that tour as well. It’s kind of a throwback hang on that song.”

To be sure, his new album, successor to 2017’s Devil Don’t Sleep, is stocked with churning rock-country tracks that teems with concert-ready rhythms, like the small-town pride anthems “Not Like Us,” and “Fire’t Up,” which should easily find a home in the setlist among his Gold and Platinum-selling hits such as “Bottoms Up” or “Kick It In The Sticks.”

But those weekend-welcoming, party-ready songs are tempered by themes of faith, regret, nostalgia, change and hope, as he draws on past years of struggles, delves into his personal evolution as a husband (he married Amber Cochran in 2015) and a father (in 2017, the couple welcomed son Barrett Hardy-Clay Gilbert, and last month, they welcomed their second child, daughter Braylen Hendrix Gilbert).

He might praise the strength of his fellow small-town types in “Tough Town,” but it’s a sturdiness not built upon empty bravado, but rather the sweat-inducing work of bringing a harvest out of the hard earth, or a time-weathered, love-filled relationship symbolized by old couples still holding wrinkled hands.

 

There are tender moments like album closer “Man That Hung The Moon,” which Brantley penned by himself the day he found out he and his wife were expecting their second child. He ponders the struggle between who he is and who he wants to be on “Man of Steel,” penned alongside Brock Berryhill and Cole Taylor.

“All of my albums are chapters of my life but this one is a little more retrospective and it takes some steps back in time. I wanted folks to see part of the journey and that’s the spiritual journey, the journey with my wife and I, and my kids and just my personal journey becoming a husband and a dad,” Gilbert says.

The most sterling of these is “Bad Boy,” where Brantley applies his husky, warm voice to a retelling of his own story of the earliest days of his relationship, dating his wife and meeting her family, with a poignant twist at the end as the song takes on the perspective of the mother conditionally giving her blessing to the relationship on the lines So alright, bad boy/long as them old habits don’t come back, boy/you know that’s how she lost her dad, boy.

“It’s word-for word the truth about me and my wife. It’s a play-by-play. We were on and off for about five years, and now we’ve been married for about five years. In the beginning her mother was not a fan of me at all, and for good reason. We all did some growing up and it’s definitely a different story now. It’s a personal song, but most of the time those end up being the ones that are the most relatable.”

 

He retraces the struggle, and later wisdom, that comes from his wilder days of youth, on a couple of soul-searching tracks, including “Lost Soul’s Prayer,” which he penned with Andrew DeRoberts, and the title track “Fire & Brimstone,” which was a solo write for Brantley. He welcomes more artist collaborators, as Jamey Johnson and Alison Krauss lend their voices to the later track.

“Jamey and I have toured together and his voice, if you listen closely he kind of plays a role of the reverend and Alison is kind of playing the choir and I’m the guy in the back that smoked a cigarette on the way in. Jamey is one of my favorite voices of all time. I just thought he was perfect for that part and if God gave an angel’s voice to a human, he definitely gave it to Alison. To have both of them on a song is incredible.”

Brantley will start the new year out strong, offering audiences some of the new material on his headlining Fire’t Up Tour, which launches in late January. The tour will feature openers including Chase Rice, Dylan Scott, and Brandon Lay.

“I’ve seen all of their shows, and I like what they bring to the stage and I can’t wait to get out there. Who knows, we might even write some songs together,” he says.

But most of all, he’s ready to bring new music to the fans.

“I think people are hungry for new stuff after three years, and we’re ready to feed that,” Gilbert says.

Kendell Marvel releases his new album, Solid Gold Sounds, today.

Co-produced by Grammy winners Dan Auerbach and Dave “Fergie” Ferguson, the album includes tracks like “Hard Time with the Truth,” “Blood In The Water,” “When It’s Good” and “Musta Kept It For Himself.” A respected writer in his own right, Marvel has penned songs with and for Gary Allan, Brothers Osborne, Jamey Johnson, Jake Owen, Lee Ann Womack, George Strait, and Chris Stapleton (including Stapleton’s Grammy-winning song “Either Way”).

“He has spent years behind the scenes in Nashville, helping others reach the spotlight but now it’s his turn to get a little shine. Solid Gold Sounds is his story, told in his own voice with his own words. I’m so proud of him for taking this giant step and I’m proud of this album we made together,” Auerbach says of working with Marvel.

“As a professional songwriter, you have to get on the radio. That’s your job,” Marvel commented on the impetus behind the new project. “There came a time when the stuff you had to write to get on the radio, I wasn’t willing to do anymore. I’d done pretty well as a songwriter up until that point, and made a few decisions where I didn’t have to put myself in that position. So I said, ‘I think I’ll make a record.’”

BMI Celebrates Next Big Wave

On Monday (Oct. 7), BMI and Pinnacle Bank hosted Music Row’s youngest professionals for an evening of networking in BMI’s Nashville office. The second of three sessions in the Next Big Wave series, attendees of this installation were rising industry tastemakers. The evening provided an opportunity for the budding creatives to connect with other professionals at similar points in their careers. Attendees included River House’s Zebb Luster, Curb/Word’s Nina Jenkins, Warner Chappell’s Jessi Vaughn, Big Loud’s Michael Giangreco, and many others.

Each event in the series is specifically tailored to a different group of new arrivals. With evenings dedicated respectively to songwriters without publishing deals, new music industry hires and songwriters who have recently secured their first publishing deal, attendees have the opportunity to mix and mingle with their peers. BMI’s Creative team is on-hand for each unique opportunity to network and educate attendees about BMI’s role in their individual careers.

 

Creative Nation’s 8th Annual Preston Taylor Ministries Benefit

On Monday (Oct. 7), Creative Nation raised more than $16,000 for Preston Taylor Ministries via a show held at Nashville’s City Winery. They welcomed special guests and songwriters Josh Osborne  (of Brothers Osborne) and Jon Pardi. The lineup also included music from the Creative Nation roster: Alec Bailey, Casey Brown, Kassi Ashton, Jonathan Hutcherson, Lori McKenna, Luke Laird, Travis Wood, and Tyler Johnson. A special highlight of the night was PTM students Camaya and Isaiah, accompanied by singer/songwriter, Neal Carpenter, singing a special performance of their original song, “See.”

 

Kelleigh Bannen Celebrates New Project Favorite Colors

Kelleigh Bannen held an album release party on Wednesday (Oct. 9) at Dream Hotel in Nashville. CMT’s Cody Alan moderated a Q&A session with Bannen, who also performed track from her album Favorite Colors, which released today.

Among the tracks she performed were “The Joneses,” “John Who,” and “Happy Birthday.”

 

Sam Williams Makes Grand Ole Opry Debut

Rising artist Sam Williams made his Grand Ole Opry debut on Wednesday (Oct. 9). His set included is original track “Can’t Fool Your Own Blood,” as well as a cover of his father Hank Williams Jr.’s 1981 hit “Weatherman,” before offering his rendition of his late grandfather Hank Williams Sr.’s “Ramblin’ Man,” while wearing the white hat his grandfather famously wore on the Opry stage. He also let the audience in on a dream of his.

“I wanted to say thank you so much to the Opry for inviting me here,” said an emotional Williams to the Opry audience, “Y’all have been so welcoming to me. I hope to come back because this has been a dream for me. Another dream of mine, I don’t know what you all think, it would be beautiful to see Hank Williams reinstated in the Grand Ole Opry one day.”

Jacky Clark-Chisholm, member and eldest sister of legendary group, The Clark Sisters, has inked a distribution deal with Nashville-based record label United Alliance Music Group (UAMG).

“We are ecstatic to welcome the legendary Jacky Clark-Chisholm to our UAMG roster of No. 1 Billboard new and established recording artists,” said Paul Wright, III, CEO of United Alliance Music Group. “Although our experience and focus are within the Gospel and Christian musical landscape, our well versed, equipped network and team will continue to serve our artists, by providing them the tools and knowledge required for sustained success.”

“I am totally excited and humbled about this new venture with UAMG. I pray that my ministry continues to bless people, celebrate and feel good about where they are in their life,” said Clark-Chisholm. “In the words of Mr. Tyler Perry… You must be able to dream it, see it, and most of all believe that God can bring all your dreams to fruition.”

In 2018, Clark-Chisholm released an EP titled My Season/On My Mind nearly 13 years after her debut solo album Expectancy. UAMG will release new music to digital music retailers and is set to impact multiple radio formats soon.