We’ve seen “old-time” country and pop country of sorts at Country USA, but what we’ve been missing is country with an edge. Something between the everyday country songs that modern radio seems to play relentlessly and Lynyrd Skynrd is what’s been missing.

Brantley Gilbert fills that void, at least somewhat. With songs like “Country Must Be Country Wide” and “Take It Outside” he shows off the traditional country song content, but with a little edginess to the music behind the lyrics. Crunchy guitars and tight, crisp drums inject a little rock into his music and it’s something that’s becoming really popular.

This country-rock fit well with the crowd and name of Harley Davidson as Brantley was performing at the Harley Davidson Roadhouse. Drawing a not so Harley crowd was a bit disappointing seeing as how most of the crowd was in their late teens to early thirties, but that’s to be expected as the younger demographic is usually at the frontlines of new music. I guess if you were looking for the traditional Harley guys you would’ve had to stop by the night before at catch ZZ Top or Scorpions on the new BMO Harris Stage.

Most of the show Brantley stayed hidden behind his plain black hat trying to avoid going blind from the obnoxious yet photo friendly flood lights emitting from the soundboard. Looking up every once in a while to taunt the crowd, Brantley got loud reactions from fans who were waiting more than four hours to see his 10pm set.

Although a Sunday night, Brantley’s show seemed to be the popular attraction of the night next to other headliners, All That Remains, and Robyn. They didn’t seem to have enough power to outdo Chicago though.

If you haven’t heard of Brantley Gilbert, check out some of his music on YouTube. If you’re intrigued the rest of his tour dates can be found here.

Brantley Gilbert

Want to see more country music from Summerfest? Check out a few photos from Rodney Atkins and Gary Allan from the Country Throwdown tour when they performed at Summerfest on the Miller Lite stage.