Kick It In The Pit: Brantley Gilbert Live in Toronto!

Brantley Gilbert looks like he might be rock and roll disguised as country music. But when you watch and listen to the songs (live or recorded) you know it’s legit. Yes, it can be loud and aggressive. And maybe your grandma isn’t lining up for his show, but plenty of fans were at The Opera House in Toronto on Thursday night.

The 30 year old Georgia native has been rising in country since Modern Day Prodigal Son was released in 2009. And now, as 2015 hits its home stretch, Gilbert is on fire with four #1 singles now under his belt, and another #1 on his writing resume with Dirt Road Anthem (Jason Aldean) – and the Kick It In The Pit tour is showing just how ready the fans are to take the rockin’ country boy to the top and keep him there for a while.

Supporting Brantley Gilbert on these Canadian dates is Cory Marquardt, who we dig, and was a great choice. It’s pretty clear that Marquardt knows his job is to get the party started. And he’s good at it. But we already knew that. Supporting his first full-length album, This Man, Cory keeps working hard, and we’re sure you’ll have a chance to see him on a stage near you soon. It was great to see him give the crowd what they were looking for with performances of Smart Phone, 21, This Man, and really got all of his new friends into the show with a very danceable version of Footloose.

It’s a good think that Marquardt is a party starter, because on the first of back-to-back sold out Toronto shows, we all partied. Some sober, like Brantley Gilbert, some not, like half the crowd (quite visibly).

From the minute Gilbert and his band stepped on stage, the sold out Opera House was alive and ready for whatever he was going to give them. On the floor and in the balcony they sang and shouted and cheered before, during, and after songs.

Like we said, it was a party… so we don’t have a full set list to share with you – but we can tell you that we all got to have a whole lot of fun with live versions of…

Kick it in the Sticks – You Don’t Know Her Like I Do – My Baby’s Guns and Roses – Dirt Road Anthem – One Hell of an Amen (dedicated to soldiers and cancer fighters) – Bottoms Up – Stone Cold Sober – Take it Outside – Small Town Throwdown – Lights of My Hometown – Read Me My Rights – Country Must Be Country Wide

Note: It was a lot of fun listening to Bottoms Up live, after hearing it all season as Justin Smoak’s walk-up music. #GoJaysGo

The “I’ve got chills” moment of the show came when Gilbert and the band played One Hell of an Amen. The song was sweetly dedicated to all soldiers in Canada and the US, as well as every person who has fought cancer as a victim, family member, or friend. The crowd sang along to every word at the top of their lungs and it was special. Given one word, special is the one I would choose.

While Brantley Gilbert may never reach peak Jason Aldean or Eric Church levels of fame and popularity… it’s clear to see that he’s not going away any time soon. There will be more albums, more parties, more anthems, and more hard rock country to go with the sweet ballads that make up his musical persona. Brantley Gilbert is in the middle of what will end up being a very successful career. One we know many people are paying attention to.

And you can include us in that group.