Tag Archives: country music

Brantley Gilbert on A Capitol Fourth and honoring veterans

Country star Brantley Gilbert talks about his new song “Hard Days,” what it was like performing on A Capitol Fourth and how he gives back to veterans.

By Heather Newgen

Fans will get a chance to see country singer and songwriter Brantley Gilbert belt out his latest single “Hard Days” at the PBS’ 40th Anniversary of A Capitol Fourth–a show a grew up watching, but reveals his performance will be different than usual due to Covid-19.

“I went to Nashville with just me and my bus driver. He’s one of the closet people in the world to me.–he’s family. We flew up, landed, drove right to where we were filming, filmed it really quickly in like two hours and then got back on the plane and flew back to Georgia.  We were gone all of maybe three or four hours. Like everything this year, it was a unique experience and different from anything else I’ve ever done,” Gilbert explained.

Related: Vanessa Williams on the 40th Anniversary of A Capitol Fourth

While the Georgia native is excited for audiences to hear his song, he admits it was tough to do on his own.

“I was missing something that makes performing anywhere okay and comfortable and fun and that’s my band. I didn’t have my band. It was just me. I’ve got to say if it had been any other song,  it probably would have been really, really uncomfortable. But I think this song was important enough to me and I believe in what it says enough that I’ll do whatever it takes to have it heard… It being the kind of song it is, and being as proud of it as I am, I think made the process not just worth it, but a little bit easier.”

“Hard Days,” touches upon the challenging times we all face, taking the good with the bad, but acknowledging hope and appreciating the difficult moments that lead to better outcomes.

“It’s been something that takes on a new meaning every day and it’s a song that I’m excited for everybody it hear,” Gilbert told The Voluntourist.

Vanessa Williams and John Stamos co-host the event, which honors those who serve, and while this year will be virtual, the show will go on. Gilbert can’t wait and is looking forward watching the American tradition.

“Being a part of it is lovely even though we’re not there in DC. It’s a special thing to be a part of and I’m excited to see it…This thing that we’re about to celebrate–freedom, it’s people out there sacrificing their lives and spending time away from their families. It’s something that I deeply appreciate. Freedom doesn’t stop. The people that preserving that freedom and fighting for it and dying for it, they’re not stopping so I don’t think we need to stop acknowledging them. United we stand, divided we fall. I think our freedom is one thing that unites us.”

The country star has done several USO tours to pay tribute to American troops and candidly confessed he wished he’d joined the military.

“It’s always something I look back on and feel like it’s something I should have done. I don’t think this is replacing that service, but it’s one way to give back. It is just infectious and addicting everytime we work with veterans or with active duty guys and girls. It’s a life changing experience. You learn something [from them] and it changes your perspective on a lot of things. As a husband and a father of two, I will take all the learning I can get.”

In addition, when Gilbert is touring, he teams up with the organization Farmer Veteran Coalition to purchase a selection of locally sourced food for his catering at each concert stop to highlight the importance of supporting local food in each community and to help boost local economies. The nonprofit also develops employment opportunities for veterans in agriculture and assists them in building skills to strengthen rural communities and to create financially sustainable long term full-time or part-time jobs.

“The things we’ve been blessed with aren’t things that I necessarily asked for. It was a lot bigger than I ever imagined and God gave me a whole lot more spotlight and platform than I’ll ever need. It’s important to all of us as a team and as a family to share that spotlight and platform with people who deserve it,” Gilbert said.

You can see Brantley Gilbert along with other incredible performances by John Fogerty, Trace Adkins, Vanessa Williams, Patti LaBelle and more on A Capitol Fourth.

The 40th annual broadcast airs on PBS Saturday, July 4, 2020 from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. ET, as well as to our troops serving around the world on the American Forces Network. The program can also be heard in stereo over NPR member stations nationwide. The concert will also be streaming on Facebook, YouTube and www.pbs.org/a-capitol-fourth and available as Video on Demand for a limited time only, July 4 to July 18, 2020.

Exclusive: Trace Adkins on honoring veterans and performing at the National Memorial Day Concert

Country star Trace Adkins will perform at the National Memorial Day Concert on PBS for his fifth time and reveals how this year will be different due to COVID-19, but equally as meaningful and celebratory in honoring veterans.

By Heather Newgen

Trace Adkins isn’t letting quarantine restrictions deter his support for the troops. The National Memorial Day Concert is one of PBS’ highest rated shows and will go on as scheduled, but with a few noticeable changes. The event draws hundreds of thousands of people to the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building, but this year the tributes and performances will be filmed separately in accordance with social distancing guidelines–something Adkins didn’t mind.

“For me, it was less of a challenge than it has been in the past because there was no live audience and if I screwed up I got to do it over again. In the past I walked out on stage to 200,000 people, so it’s like being in a pressure cooker. This time it was way easier,” he laughed.

But that doesn’t mean the three-time Grammy nominee didn’t miss the fans.

“It was very strange. I got on top of a building with the Capitol Dome in the background and we had a skeleton camera crew. They played the tracks and I sang. It was surreal. I looked down and there was literally nobody there. This is my fifth time performing at the Memorial Day Concert. Every year that I’ve performed you walk out and there’s the orchestra and thousands of people in front of you. It’s awesome and just an awe-inspiring setting. This time it was different, but still I think we approached it with the same reverence and the same tone. Hopefully this show will remind people what this holiday is about. It’s about the most important holiday because if it wasn’t for this one, we wouldn’t be able to celebrate all the other ones. That’s the goal we had going into this and hopefully this will help remind people they should take a moment and pay tribute to the people who have sacrificed so much for us,” he exclusively told The Voluntourist.

RELATED: D-Day survivor Ray Lambert recounts the Omaha Beach horror and why he was apprehensive to tell his story

Adkins has always advocated for veterans and is happy to celebrate them every chance he gets.

“I was thrilled to be asked to be a part of this. I was really happy they were going forward with it and going to do the show. It’s always a privilege and the highlight of my year to be part of this show. This year, I think especially. It provides some perspective. We’re going through a strange time but there have been generations before us who have been asked to sacrifice way more than we’re being asked to sacrifice. The times have been tougher on a much bigger scale and I think we need to be reminded of that. This too shall pass.”

He added, “It’s always been a privilege to work with veteran organizations and it’s really been the most meaningful thing that I’ve done in my career. I don’t expect to stop doing it.”

A few weeks ago Trace Adkins dropped his new single “Better Off,” which has already garnered over two million streams. But, don’t expect to see him perform it on the National Memorial Day Concert.

“It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to go out there and do my new single. I did “Still A Soldier” and “Til the Sun Comes Up.” I think those songs hit the right notes and help people get the right frame of mind for this Memorial Day weekend.”

The National Memorial Day Concert will air on PBS Sunday, May 24 at 7 p.m. CT. The concert also will stream on Facebook, YouTube and pbs.org.