Jacob Bryant with Them Dirty Roses

108 North 9th Street,Mount Vernon IL 62864

11 September, 2021

Description

Down Home Presents - Jacob Bryant with Them Dirty Roses at The Granada Theatre in Mount Vernon, IL In the space of a few short years, Jacob Bryant has proved himself one of country music’s true outlaw singer / songwriters. But there’s a big heart beneath that tattooed and bearded exterior… A hard-charging country rocker with a sound that blends the narrative aspects of country with the kick of southern rock, the rural North Georgia native has earned his stripes shedding light on life’s darkest corners, using a booming pure-country baritone to enhance both music and message. But he’s always filled his songs with compassion and empathy, not reckless abandon, using past experience to fuel creative instincts, as shown on debut album, ‘Practice What I Preach’. “The album was a great roller coaster ride,” says Jacob. “We finished the recordings only to have the files stolen in a robbery at my producer's house. Fortunately, we discovered back-up files at our mastering guru's studio so we didn't have to start again! Two years of work saved!” After losing his mother in 2010, the budding songwriter battled depression and anxiety, self-medicated with alcohol and cocaine and ultimately suffered a heart attack at the age of just 19 – but he transformed the pain into passion. Drawing on the music of heroes like Keith Whitley, George Jones, Travis Tritt and Lynyrd Skynyrd, he quit reaching for the bottle and started pouring himself into songs… “It keeps me alive,” Jacob says of his music. “Living with some of the things I’ve been through, if it wasn’t for music I probably wouldn’t be here. It’s a life-line, it keeps me sane.” Actually, that life-line has turned out to be more of a climbing rope… Bryant’s self-titled EP was released in 2014, with the standout ‘This Side of Sober’ introducing an artist who has seen dark times and lived to tell about it. The following year, a song he penned with Jon Lawhon from Black Stone Cherry, ‘Save My Soul’, featured on the ‘Through The Windshield’ EP along with four other cuts, further adding to his story. Building a fanbase who appreciate gritty honesty, Bryant then hit the Top 10 of iTunes’ Top Country Albums chart with his ‘Up In Smoke’ EP in 2016, placed his co-written ‘Out There’ on Luke Combs’ 3 x Platinum ‘This One’s For You’ album in 2017, then turned heads with ‘Practice What I Preach’ in 2020. Released independently in the US, the album debuted at Number One on the iTunes Country chart, widely connecting with fans disillusioned by the manufactured and the mainstream. In fact, single / video track ‘Pour Whiskey On My Grave’ has now notched-up nearly 34 million views and streams, while fans have flocked to nationwide shows – from tiny, hole-in-the-wall bars to an opening spot for Dolly Parton at the legendary Mother Church of Country Music, Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Recently, Jacob and wife Britney welcomed their second child and he reflected on life's journey. "I'm so thankful I've been able to spend more time with my children. With being off the road (during the pandemic), it’s given me the space to reflect and to grow, to get better as both an artist and a person,” he reflects. “In the past, I'd go through my daily life searching for normal, and my normal has been making music that lets the pain out,” he continues. “A lot of artists don’t talk about what they’re going through, but I want other people to know they’re not alone. Now I find myself writing more about the joys of life". Jacob plans to release 3 singles in 2021 leading up to the release of his next album: Bar Stool Preacher due out in January of 2022.