Brantley Gilbert Celebrates 9 Years of Sobriety: ‘Drink One For Ya Boy’

Brantley Gilbert marked an important milestone on Friday, Dec. 18, sharing with his fans that he was celebrating nine years of sobriety. He reflected on his journey with a photo of himself and wife Amber hugging their 3-year-old son, Barrett Hardy-Clay, thanking his support system, including his fans, in his caption.

“9 years drink free today, and couldn’t have done it without my family, my brothers, my road family and the #bgnation…. If y’all pop a top today drink one for ya boy….,” he wrote. Gilbert also told fans that he is eager to return to performing with a livestream show later this month. “Much love and lookin forward to playin the livestream show for y’all on Dec 30….,” he concluded, sharing that fans could purchase tickets at the link in his bio.

Gilbert previously told his record label that his tattoos have helped him maintain his sobriety over the years.

“The one on my left side is really the story of my life, and goes through my addiction and the tribulations and trials,” he explained. “I got the devil trying to get on my shoulder over here, and I got two angels – I got one chubby angel with a spear keepin’ him from gettin’ up here. It’s just little things like that that I remember the struggle every time I look at my arm. That’s one of the things, people ask me, ‘How are you staying sober?’ And honest to God, this has a lot to do with it. Every time I look down, I see flames and skulls and the fact that I put myself and everybody that works for me through hell.”

The singer and his wife, who married in 2015, are also parents to 1-year-old daughter Braylen Hendrix. Now that he’s a father of two young kids, Gilbert shared that he likes the holiday season a lot more than he used to.

“You know, Christmas has never really been my deal,” he told his label. “I like Christmas because it’s Jesus’ birthday. But outside of that, I’m all about it for the kids.”

Gilbert revealed that Barrett is a big fan of The Grinch, so much so that the family watches the movie year round.

“Christmas is big at my house,” he said. “Amber starts decorating really early. I’m not as big of a scrooge as I used to be but I think I still got a little ways to go. I’m not quite as over the top about it as they are. But it is fun and it warms my heart and it means the world to me to see them gettin’ excited.”