Brantley Gilbert’s tour stop in Mississippi went off the rails Friday night: The country-rock musician’s wife gave birth to their third child while he was performing onstage, prompting him to pause the show for his son’s imminent arrival.
Shortly after starting his Off the Rails Tour set in Tupelo, Miss., the “Bottoms Up” singer was pulled away “for an emergency backstage,” according to the birth announcement video Gilbert posted Saturday on Instagram. That emergency was his wife, Amber, going into labor on their tour bus, resulting in what he said might have been the craziest night of his life.
Gilbert, 39, shared footage in which he abruptly left the stage and ran through stage doors backstage at the Cadence Bank Arena. Then it cut to him telling his mom that her “new grandbaby” had arrived. Gilbert also shared post-birth video of his wife and new son on the bus, as well as his triumphant return to his concert to finish the show.
“We got a baby,” he said into the stage mic as the crowd cheered him on.
“So last night might have been the craziest night of my life. Watching such an amazing woman do such an amazing thing is something I’ll never forget,” Gilbert wrote on Instagram.
“Thank you to our road family for rallying around us, [midwife] Brittany Thornton for helping us bring this little dude into the world, Tupelo, Mississippi, for showing us mad love and support, and most of all… Amber Gilbert, for letting me love you and showing me EXACTLY how incredibly strong a woman can be. I love you,” he added.
Amber Gilbert also announced their son’s arrival in a joint post, writing: “We will never forget the way you got here and we can’t wait to see what you do here. Abram Howell Gilbert 10.11.24”
The Gilberts, who have been married since 2015, are also parents to son Barrett, 6, and daughter Braylen, 5. Three days postpartum, the couple made a joint appearance on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends” to talk about their wild night.
“I can’t say this was on my bingo card,” the singer said Monday on the morning show.
He said that they had a midwife on tour with them and “were prepared if it were to happen,” but they thought they had a week or so left before the baby arrived.
“We didn’t,” he said.
“I went from reading a book in the bed to calling the midwife in a matter of minutes,” Amber Gilbert added. “So I was just ready to get my show on the road, not his.”
As for going back onstage, Brantley Gilbert said they “didn’t really think in a million years it would happen during the show” but had joked about him returning to his fans with the baby in tow, presenting the child to the audience like Simba in Disney’s “The Lion King.”
When it came time for the singer to decide if he would stay with his wife or return the stage, he said, his wife “had this look of understanding.”
Amber Gilbert explained: “I knew it would be quick and he would be back and I had time to get cleaned up and just be with my baby for a minute. So it was fine.”
