First he found the girl, then he lost the girl – and finally, Brantley Gilbert got the girl back. Like every classic romance, Brantley and Amber Gilbert had a broken road to finding their way back to each other, but true love remains life’s best compass. And now the couple, who’ve known each other since childhood, are pleased to announce they’re expecting their first child.
“We’ve had such a hard time keeping a secret,” says the soon-to-be dad and proud owner of back-to-back platinum albums Just As I Am and Halfway To Heaven. “But the doctors wanted us to wait past the first trimester. So here we are.”
PEOPLE and People.com broke the news exclusively at just after noon Eastern time.
For the man who’s written every love song, every loss song, every fun song and every yearning about his now wife Amber, the coming child completes their love story – and opens a new chapter on the pair’s life together.
In the meantime, the Country Music Association Song of the Year nominee for “Dirt Road Anthem” is back on the road shortly. Kicking off the summer leg of his The Devil Don’t Sleep Tour in Tampa on June 2nd at the Midflorida Credit Union Amphitheater, he’ll be hitting the Southeast, Midwest and Heartland through the fall.
As The New York Times has said of Gilbert’s creative axis, “Mr. Gilbert comes on like a revving monster-truck engine, backed by heavy rock guitar, but there’s a slyness to his singing. Beneath his boxy exterior, there’s an active intelligence about melody and texture,” while Entertainment Weekly concurs,,“With swaggering guitars, catchy hooks, and a DGAF attitude, Devil promises to keep the ‘One Hell of an Amen’ singer at the top of the country charts,” while Nashville’s alt-weekly The Scene expands on those assessments, writing the thoughtful side of Gilbert’s new music is attracting as much attention as the rowdy stuff. A boozy jam called ‘The Weekend’ is Devil’s first single, but the title track is all about the daily struggle to outrun personal demons, not embrace them.”
For now, the big news isn’t “The Weekend” hitting the Top 5, the sold out winter arena tour through the Rust Belt or the NPR essay The Devil Don’t Sleep inspired. Right now, there’s a baby on board, and Brantley Gilbert can’t wait. Read all about it online now — and in this week’s copy of PEOPLE, on stands Thursday.
