Biography

Cut from the Texas country cloth, yet rocking a style of his own design, River House artist Grant Gilbert has learned two things about going his own way. First, you’re better off begging forgiveness than asking permission. And second, the hard work pays off. 

With a history of self-made wins, streaming success and big-name believers, he’s taken those lessons to heart, using go-for-broke grit to keep moving along a steep creative curve. And now, with a fresh batch of music, proudly independent and made with Nashville’s top talent, a new chapter begins.

“It's crunch time in my career,” the singer-songwriter says. “It feels like there’s this big domino wiggling, waiting to fall and knock over 50 others. And if I keep my nose down working, I just think good things will happen.” 

That make-it-happen spirit comes natural to the young talent. Raised on a cattle ranch in tiny Santo, Texas, both a strong work ethic and a love of country were passed down through the generations. But in his hands, they each took on a new form. 

Inspired by everything from his grandparents’ Texas swing and fiddle tunes to his dad’s penchant for Springsteen, Petty and the country hits of the ‘80s, Gilbert was just a kid when he started playing guitar – and soon, he was taking bold chances. Booking a cold-called gig in a local taco shop, the teenager found a new way to make gas money (and good times), and never looked back.

“My brother and I called up every Bar & Grill within 100 miles,” he recalls, laughing about “not knowing any better” than to just show up and play … even underage and under-experienced.

He took the same approach to Lubbock’s Texas Tech, diving head first into a town famous for its vibrant live-country scene. Once again refusing to “wait his turn,” Gilbert built a band and played all over town, writing songs in his dorm and relentlessly pitching his tunes to the legendary Blue Light. The venue had nurtured self-styled stars like Wade Bowen, William Clark Green and Josh Abbott in the past, yet Gilbert would leave his own mark.

First earning a weekly Tuesday-night gig, his rowdy performances soon bumped him up to Wednesday. Finally, with a full house singing along to his rollicking, hours long cover-song sets, he landed a coveted weekend slot for the college crowd, sprinkling originals in as his reputation grew.

Even Josh Abbott took notice, joining Gilbert to sing two songs on his 21st birthday – his all-time favorite, Gary Allan’s “Watching Airplanes;” and Tom Petty's “Free Falling.” Looking back now, it was a preview of Gilbert’s own electrified, genre-blurring sound to come – blood pumping blue-collar rock, with heavy guitars, big drums and stories defined by heartland soul, all sung with vocal mixing the beauty of a Red River sunset, with the rusty rasp of barbed wire.

Soon Gilbert was all-in again, recording and releasing an EP that spawned the million-plus streamer “Held On To,” then hitting the road from Texas to Nashville and beyond. COVID-19 slowed things, sending him back to his roots and a stop-gap construction job. But when “Held On To” came on the radio one day, he realized something. He’d been waiting around for someone else to point the way.

“I was like, ‘This isn't how I do things,’” he explains. “I was just like, ‘If I’m gonna do it, let's work hard.’”

Feeling bold again, Gilbert spent the next year-and-a-half working with hit songwriters like Brad Clawson, Jessie Jo Dillon and Dan Isbell, and recording with producer/songwriter Jonathan Singleton. Tracks like “She Goes Home (Dirty Breakup Song),” “God & Everyone” and “What's Stopping Us” racked up nearly 2 million streams on Spotify alone, mixing that gritty Lubbock edge with a youthful passion for life and love. But with a new chapter unfolding, he’s just getting started.

New tracks like the can-crushing “Six Pack State of Mind” (featuring Josh Abbott) crack open the country-rock energy, with Gilbert cutting loose for a party-starting set closer. “Take Me Out to the Bar” reimagines a baseball classic, turning a romantic strike out into a getting-over-her home run.

Each of those helps showcase the artist Gilbert’s become, but meanwhile, others tribute the guy he’s always been. “Promise You Me” arrives as a serene, hand-in-hand ballad pledging all of himself (and nothing else) to the one he loves. And with “Ain’t From It,” Gilbert salutes those empty spaces that fill the nation – and his small-town heart. With a driving beat, ringing guitars and a voice that fits like an old Carhartt, the rising star decides to stand his ground, no matter how far he gets from home.

“There's people out there between the highways that make the world go ‘round, and I’m glad to represent those guys and girls,” he says. “If you're from there, you’ll get it.”

For him, that has always meant being his own man, and working to make his own place in the world. With big things on the horizon, he’s not going to stop now. Grant’s new single, "Drunk Since Dallas" is out now everywhere with much more to come throughout the year.

“I’ve never been afraid to be told ‘No,’ and I think that went a long way,” he says. “I guess it still is, because I'm still doing it.”