Brantley Gilbert kicked off Memorial Day Weekend with a four-city motorcycle ride from Houston, Texas, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in celebration of the May 18 release of the JUST AS I AM PLATINUM EDITION (The Valory Music Co.).
The Georgia native invited ten Wounded Warrior Project® Alumni on the 48-hour trek, which also served as the inaugural ride for WWP’s “Rolling Odyssey” program, a therapeutic ride for combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and readjustment challenges. A passionate supporter of servicemen and women, the “One Hell Of An Amen” singer expressed his personal gratitude for the opportunity to ride alongside combat veterans over the holiday weekend. As they convened early Friday morning (5/22), the group shared stories and encouragement before heading out on their journey.
“I was honored to share the weekend with these fellas and extend every courtesy we can to the men and women that gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country,” Brantley shared after the ride. “The Wounded Warrior Project is out there fighting the good fight and it hits home for me. A good friend of mine came back from combat and had a hard time adjusting. I’m grateful that we could give back to him and give back to all the those that serve. We met a lot of great people this weekend.”
Brantley performed at two stops along the way, highlighting previous hits and offering a taste of the five unreleased tracks featured on the new album. Throngs of fans flocked to the Harley-Davidson dealerships to meet the rebel-rousing hitmaker, who autographed every album, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit Wounded Warrior Project. Brantley also engaged in a Q&A at each stop, giving fans a candid glimpse into this chapter of the singer/songwriter’s life. JUST AS I AM PLATINUM EDITION serves as a thank you to the deeply loyal BG Nation for their support of 2014’s JUST AS I AM. This full-throttle edition is further proof of their devotion, already ascending to the #1 spot on the iTunes Top Country Albums chart and #8 on the all-genre Top Albums chart.
The inaugural Memorial Day ride in 2014, Athens to Arlington, combined Brantley’s passion for music, military and motorcycles as well as became a catalyst for the string of accolades. Currently nominated for Collaborative Video of the Year (“Small Town Throwdown” ft. Justin Moore and Thomas Rhett) at the CMT Music Awards, the gold-certified JUST AS I AM notched the third highest Country debut of 2014 and ended the year as one of the Top 5 best selling Country albums of 2014. JUST AS I AM also took home Favorite Country Album at the American Music Awards and produced the 2X Platinum #1 hit “Bottoms Up.”
Brantley capped off the weekend with a performance at the Bayou Country Superfest. He will spend the summer on select stadium dates of Kenny Chesney’s THE BIG REVIVAL TOUR. For tour dates and more, visit BrantleyGilbert.com.
