Brantley Gilbert is having fun, enjoying career and music
by Scott Kiefer

Brantley Gilbert has become of country music's new driving forces, and has went from opening act, to support act, to headlining arena tours in just four short years since making his impact on country radio. Legions of fans across the board, his beloved BG Nation club, and his sincerest dedication to his music and fans has only added to accredibility in country music. Now on the second leg of his arena headlining "Let It Ride" tour, Gilbert will play the Chaifetz Arena Friday night, along with Aaron Lewis, Chase Bryant, and Brian Davis.
Aptly named the "Let It Ride Tour," Gilbert recently said in an interview that it's time for hime to relax and have a little fun.
"So many of my songs and videos have been so serious, if you look back on them," Gilbert said. "I just realized it's time to have a little bit of fun, and enjoy this thing we've got."
Gilbert actually said that making the video for his single "Small Town Throw Down" was the key to finally take time to enjoy his career.
"Making that video is what convinced me," Gilbert said. "It was a whole lotta fun with Justin Moore and Thomas Rhett. It just dawned on me how much fun it was, and that it was now a time to relax and have a little fun, if just for a while."
Of course, being Brantley Gilbert would have to be a little bit of fun by any stretch of the imagination, but it's also still a work in progress, which includes numerous interviews, personal appearances, and concert tours.
"We gotta keep rolling on this thing," Gilbert said, "but, the most important part is to keep counting out blessings which we do every day."
Currently in the middle of the "Let It Ride" tour, dates will continue through about the middle of December, and then some time off the road.
There's plenty more to come from Gilbert's current album, "Just As I Am," however.
“I sing for the people who have helped me do my thing,” he says. His inspiration for writing comes from all aspects of his life, but he knows when he gets an “ear worm” it is a song that he needs to write now; he just has to give it legs and wings.
While he certainly writes for himself, Brantley believes that his music reverberates with others because he is writing about life.
“I cannot take an engine apart and put it back together, but maybe when a mechanic hears one of my songs, my music can help him through something he’s going through in his life. If what I have gone through helps someone else, then I feel I am doing what I was put here to do. ‘I’m Gone’ is me telling others that, sometimes, holding on is not the best decision.”
He believes that songs motivate people to do something. “I don’t sing what I don’t write and I don’t write what I don’t live. I’m not the best singer; I just sing my stories, my life.”
Brantley writes about lovin’, drinkin’, partyin’, fightin’, trials and tribulations, faith and triumphs.
"It's just what I do, brother," Gilbert recently said. "I'm just glad the people like it, because that's why I do it. I like to have fun, put on the best show I can, and make that connection with the people. That's what makes music the awesome thing that it is. It's just sharing real life."

Who: Brantley Gilbert, "Let It Ride Tour"
When: Friday, October 17
Where: Chaifetz Arena
Tickets: $33 to $47
How: www.ticketmaster.com