5 cool things about Brantley Gilbert's country music spectacle at the Canton Civic Center

CANTON − Country music artist Brantley Gilbert said some folks had questioned his decision to bring his "Off The Rails" tour to Canton.

But midway through Thursday night's performance, he addressed the question squarely to a nearly sold-out crowd of more than 4,000 at the Canton Memorial Civic Center.

"When people saw it on our schedule, they said, 'Why in the hell are you coming to Canton, Ohio?'" he said.

Pointing to a raucous crowd, the chart-topping singer-songwriter said wryly: "This is why ... we came to Canton, Ohio!"

That revved up the audience even more, a summation of Gilbert's rowdy show that featured an army of guitarists, new songs, classic country music and rock 'n' roll covers, while flames and smoke periodically shot into the air on stage and multi-colored lights projected from above and at floor level.

Energy never waned throughout the concert, starting with openers Demun Jones and Struggle Jennings, who both fuse rap and hip-hop with country music.

Country chart-topper: Brantley Gilbert talks Toby Keith, new music, faith

Here are five of the coolest moments of Gilbert's concert:

1. 'Bottoms Up' turns into a crowd singalong

"Bottoms Up" is one of Gilbert's biggest hits based on the nearly 300 million views the song and video have garnered on YouTube.

Thursday night's rendition was a crowd favorite, too. At one point, he stopped on the catwalk extending from the main stage and turned the microphone to audience members. Bouncing on his toes to the party anthem, he then pointed the microphone toward the entire crowd who sang along joyously.

No wonder the song made Rolling Stone's "Bro-Country's 30 Biggest Bangers" list in 2019.

2. Canton resident attends first concert ever

Waiting for Gilbert to take the stage, I turned to the woman next to me and started a conversation.

"Have you been here before?" I asked, referring to the Canton Civic Center.

"This is my first concert," 37-year-old Kelly Loder said matter-of-factly.

What? I was dumbfounded. Being a lifelong music lover and concertgoer, I thought I must have misheard the Canton resident. Nope.

"I've never been interested in seeing anyone before," Loder said flatly. "We heard Brantley was coming, and I said, 'We're going,' and it's close to home."

Not only did Loder attend the show, but she bought four tickets — a pair in the pit, as well as a second set in case she got tired of standing.

Judging by her rapt excitement during the first few songs, I'm assuming those seats went unfilled.

3. Fans get to hear what sounds like a future hit song

During a recent interview, the Georgia native promised he would be unveiling a few new songs that will appear on an upcoming album.

"Dirty Money" was the first one, a hard-charging, uptempo song featuring fierce guitar licks. But it was a slower new number, "Me and My House," a sentimental tune with an instantly catchy chorus that was first-listen great.

Gilbert introduced the song before playing it: "I'm not trying to project my way of life on you," he said earnestly. "... You know how to run your house. I just want to share how I run mine."

The new song is anything but a softy ballad, however. Both Demun Jones and Struggle Jennings joined Gilbert on stage, and they also will appear on the studio version. Interspersed with rapping and brawny yet melodic guitar playing, I'm eager to hear the tune when it's released.

Collaborations aren't new for Gilbert, who's teamed up on songs with Colt Ford, Toby Keith, Jason Aldean, Thomas Rett, Justin Moore, Willie Nelson, Jelly Roll and others.

4. Gilbert talks sobriety

Gilbert shared a message of sobriety with the audience.

Alcohol leads to problems for Gilbert personally. "I break out in handcuffs and bad decisions," he said to laughter from some people in the crowd.

Gilbert clarified his sobriety, adding that he likes to "smoke weed."

Telling his fans he now drinks vicariously through them, Gilbert launched into the festive song, "Bottoms Up."

5. Gilbert gets heavy with Collective Soul and Rage Against the Machine

Even before Gilbert took the stage, it was clear he was partial to hard rock.

While his crew readied the stage and uncovered a massive drum kit, AC/DC's "Back in Black" screamed from the sound system.

Toward the end of the concert, Gilbert sprinkled in both old school country and full-throttle rock songs. And the band is undoubtedly built for it. Multiple guitarists are in Gilbert's ensemble. And the frontman frequently straps a guitar around his neck, beefing up the six-string attack even more.

Standouts included Collective Soul's 1993 monster hit, "Shine."

"Whoa, heaven, let your light shine down!" Gilbert and the crowd belted out in unison.

Although Gilbert didn't sing the lyrics, on two occasions the band broke into a guitar orgy while riffing a classic Rage Against the Machine song, "Killing in the Name."

Super cool.

Reach Ed at ebalint@gannett.com.

On X (formerly Twitter) @ebalintREP and Instagram at ed_balint

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Brantley Gilbert's 2024 tour visits Canton Memorial Civic Center