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Gilbert rocks Youngstown

YOUNGSTOWN — Country music singer Brantley Gilbert has come into his own.

The 32-year-old performer, who burst onto the country music scene just a few years ago, did the same in Youngstown Friday night, showing off his versatility in both performing and songwriting.

After serving as opening act in recent years for big names like Toby Keith, Eric Church and Kenny Chesney, the performer had no problem filling up the Covelli Centre as a headliner in his “Devil Don’t Sleep” tour, promoting his latest album.

The already rowdy crowd got louder still as the Georgia native sang the line “an ol’ boy pulled up with a license plate Ohio” from his first No. 1 hit, “Country must be country wide,” released on his 2011 “Halfway to Heaven” album. The record went platinum when it sold more than 1 million copies. “I love this damn state,” Gilbert said from the stage Friday. “I have got to put it in more songs, that’s what I gotta do.”

Throughout the one hour and 45-minute set, Gilbert sang all four of his past No. 1 country chart hits, as well as two songs written by Gilbert but made famous by country superstar Jason Aldean.

The flannel-wearing, body-pierced and tattooed performer showed his softer side when he slowed down the pace to perform his second No. 1 hit, a ballad titled, “You don’t know her like I do.” The stage backdrop became a giant slide show of black and white photographs of Gilbert and his wife, school teacher Amber Cochran, including images of their romance and eventual marriage at their Georgia home.

“That was the best day of my life, right there,” Gilbert said, motioning to a photo of their 2015 wedding day.

Gilbert played an acoustic guitar adorned with stars and stripes as he sang “One hell of an Amen” in response to chants from the crowd of “U-S-A, U-S-A.”

The performance also included fan favorites, “Small town throwdown,” “It’s about to get dirty,” “Bottoms up,” and “My kind of crazy.” Gilbert also performed, “My kinda party” and “Dirt road anthem,” both songs he had written and recorded on early albums, but that were made famous by Aldean, a fellow Georgian.

blinert@tribtoday.com

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