Country’s Bryant set to release first LP

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — When Jasper, Georgia, native Jacob Bryant sings, he doesn’t just bare his soul. He rips it wide open and lets it bleed out through his deep baritone.

Haunted by the death of his mother and the specter of substance abuse, the darkness of Bryant’s life infuses the music that has brought him to the verge of the next level of country music stardom. It’s embedded in the autobiographical tunes that have won him an ever-growing following: “Save My Soul,” “Up in Flames,” “Too Late to Turn Around,” “This Side of Sober.”

And it’s in the hurt of the songs on his recently released EP, “Unplugged Volume Two”: “25 in Jail,” “A Woman’s Touch,” “Sometimes I Pray,” “The Woman You Walked On.”

That work, released on American Roots Records for InTune Entertainment, is a precursor to Bryant’s first full-length album (after four EPs), which is set to be released in November. It’s a milestone the singer/songwriter is looking forward to with anticipation.

“I’m really proud and excited for my fans about the new record,” Bryant said in a news release. “We recorded a couple of my most requested songs from our live show along with a number of new songs I can’t wait to share.”

Music fans who haven’t yet heard Bryant’s music can catch him at any number of stops on his current “Up in Smoke” tour, with shows planned from California to Colorado to Georgia to Florida. But newcomers should be forewarned: A Bryant concert is a guaranteed party, but the introspection of some of his most popular songs has a tendency to touch those places that are most private.

Kind of like a Jamey Johnson show.

“I had trouble dealing with my mother’s death (which sped him on the road to addiction), and it took me looking in the mirror and realizing I wasn’t happy with the person looking back at me to turn things around,” Bryant said. “I was able, with help, to completely quit drinking for a long time and to get control of my life. My mother would have wanted me to continue on with my music. It was her dream. I kind of made her dream my dream.”

Bryant, who has performed at the now-defunct Big Rax in Albany and more recently at The Gin in Tifton, eschews the formulaic country that has made stars of some of his (perhaps less talented) contemporaries who’ve chosen to trade their passion for a shot on the money-go-‘round. His introspective songs take the best of country and mixes it with the bluegrass he cut his teeth on and the rock of bands like Journey that was part of his coming of age.

“It’s country music … done my way,” the singer said.

While fans eagerly await the release of Bryant’s first LP, their appetites are being whetted for now by the moving “Unplugged” and his recently released single, “Best Part of Me Is You.” The latest EP follows 2016’s “Up in Smoke,” which debuted at No. 7 on the iTunes country chart. The video for “A Woman’s Touch” off that work debuted at No. 1 on CMT’s 12-pack countdown and stayed in the Top 5 for an incredible 17 weeks.

To find more information about Bryant’s tour schedule or his music, visit his www.jacobbryantmusic.com website or his www.facebook.com/JacobBryantFans Facebook page.