colt ford
Trailblazers carve their own paths, breaking rules and redefining norms along the way. Colt Ford has always done just that, spitting bars over banjo lines long before it was the trend. This fearless approach has set the Georgia-born singer, songwriter, rapper, musician, performer, and co-founder of Average Joes Entertainment apart, cementing his status as country music’s ultimate independent maverick.
Just last year (2024), Ford faced a life-altering event when he suffered a near-fatal heart attack after a performance in Arizona, collapsing and dying twice. The experience of dying and being brought back to life felt otherworldly. Drawing strength from his love for family, friends, and fans, Ford powered through his recovery, which became a powerful wake-up call.
Now, with a second lease on life, Ford is charging into 2025 with renewed energy, ready to deliver new shows, fresh collaborations, and an arsenal of new music — mindful of the fact that life can change in the blink of an eye, and he plans to “walk a little slower” moving forward.
With roots in rap, Southern rock, and country, Ford has spent his career collaborating across genres, building a dynamic discography that includes millions of sales and billions of streams. From Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Jermaine Dupri and Bubba Sparxxx to members of No Doubt, Lit, and Lady A, the country-rap troubadour has carved out his own unique space in the music world, all while forging lasting friendships along the way. Moreover, Ford co-wrote Jason Aldean’s RIAA certified hit “Dirt Road Anthem” and Brantley Gilbert’s “Country Must Be Country Wide” — both of which reached number one on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart — solidifying his position as a behind-the-scenes powerhouse in the studio.
By 2019, Ford had crafted an impressive string of achievements, with his personal chart successes propelling him to mainstream recognition. He notched five consecutive Top 10 debuts on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, starting with Declaration of Independence, which landed at #1 in 2012. Two years later, Thanks for Listening soared into the Top 10 of the Top 200, also claiming the #1 spot on the Billboard Rap & Independent charts. In parallel, he placed six songs on the Hot Country Songs chart, with “Back” (feat. Jake Owen) reaching the Top 40. Among his numerous accolades, Ford earned a nomination for “Vocal Event of the Year” at the Academy of Country Music Awards for his collaboration on “Cold Beer” with Jamey Johnson in 2011.
Ford’s 2023 record, Must Be The Country, was born out of his courageous fight against eye cancer, showcasing his powerful vocal range and flawless delivery. After undergoing rigorous surgery to remove the tumor, Ford’s resilience was tested once again with a diagnosis of Myasthenia Gravis, an autoimmune disorder that affects his facial muscles and neural connections. Yet, undeterred by these personal health challenges, Ford remains a beacon of inspiration, continuing to perform and work on new projects. His unshakable spirit resonates throughout his music, underscoring his steadfast dedication to his craft.
With a renewed sense of purpose, Ford is set to hit the ground running with his catchy new release, “Hell Out Of It,” featuring Michael Ray, on February 21. “I loved this song the moment I heard it, and after everything I’ve been through, it really resonates,” Ford says. “I wanted to bring in someone I’m close with, and Michael Ray absolutely nailed it.” The “Whiskey and Rain” singer teamed up with Ford on the feel-good track, creating the perfect anthem for cranking up and soaking in a sunny day in Music City.
“I have been so lucky and blessed to have worked with the people I have and continue to,” Ford says. “I just like letting the song lead me to who I want to work with and hope they want to work with me.”
After his remarkable recovery, Ford is joining Brantley Gilbert on select dates of his “Tattoos” Tour, which kicks off this spring. While the idea of returning to the stage after such a traumatic health scare is nerve-wracking, Ford praises, “BG, who’s like a little brother to me, is the best person to help me ease back in. He’s as good as it gets.”
Ford concludes: “I hope the fans and up and coming artists realize how much love and passion it takes to have a career as long as me. I have always tried to help other artists and always take time for the fans; they are the reason we are all here. I hope I leave a foundation that allows others to be successful and maybe just maybe write some cool songs.”
Blanco Brown
Blanco Brown knows a thing or two about turning a bitter experience into a sweet one.
In August 2020, Brown was hit head-on and nearly killed by a drunk driver while riding his motorcycle. He endured multiple hours-long surgeries, a lengthy ICU stay, and months of rehabilitation therapy, during which he had to re-learn how to do everything from hold a microphone to walk.
“Not being able to do anything about it, and the other driver got to walk scot-free — I went to a bitter moment,” Brown admits. It’s an understandable reaction, but Brown knew he couldn’t wallow in it: “I had to let it go, let God, and keep the positivity in things,” he says.
To alter a cliché, Brown is taking lemons and making his Heartache & Lemonade EP. And he sees these four songs — and the other new tracks he’s got in his back pocket for release down the line — as an opportunity not to be wasted.
“It wasn’t by mistake, it was by the grace of God, that I actually got a second chance at life,” Brown continues. “That accident woke me up, and it made me want to do more and get more done in the space I’m in. With music, I get to lay my emotions on the line for eternity, so I take it real serious.”
Brown has worked as a songwriter and a producer within pop and hip-hop with acts including Fergie, Childish Gambino, Kane Brown, and Chris Brown, earning a Grammy nomination, but he made a name for himself in country music by blending classically country and traditionally hip-hop sounds, as well as the storytelling of both styles, into what he calls “TrailerTrap.” With his new music, he’s aiming to mix fresh sounds and impactful messages with the fun and sweetness of his biggest hits that have resulted in over two billion on demand audio streams:
the platinum-certified #1 singles “The Git Up” — the viral hit that topped the Billboard Hot
Country Songs chart for 12 weeks and was the top-selling digital country song in the United States for 13 weeks with more than 1.4 billion audio streams and four billion video streams across platforms — and “Just the Way,” a collaboration with Parmalee that has earned more than 504 million on-demand streams.
“I’m always trying to take my sound to the next level,” says Brown, who draws inspiration from a vinyl collection that includes records from the 1940s onward. “I wanted these songs to be bright and lighthearted, but also at the same time, carry enough weight to impact listeners.”
Heartache & Lemonade accomplishes that goal in a variety of ways: the EP-opening “Energy” finds Brown in a tough emotional space but determined to turn things around, while the radioready “Sunshine Shine,” Brown explains, “is about being your own light and allowing yourself to grace the world with your greatness, being positive and influential, and being in a space that no one can dim your light.”
Nostalgia runs through the fiddle and steel–drenched “Tailgating in the Sun,” which reflects one
part of the dichotomy of Brown’s childhood in Georgia. He grew up in Atlanta’s Bankhead
neighborhood but spent summers with relatives in the small, rural town of Butler.
“‘Tailgating in the Sun’ takes me back to laying on the back of a long bed kicking it with my college sweetheart. I picture a beautiful day where the weather is just perfect, the truck’s started, the radio’s playing our favorite songs, there’s a cooler full of some cold ones and a lot of tailgating fun! We could hear the cheering from the stadium in the background, but I just got a touchdown!”
Brown reconnects with a familiar collaborator on Heartache & Lemonade: Parmalee’s Matt Thomas co-wrote the slow-burning “Good as It Gets,” in which Brown savors the moments he’s been given. After all, he truly knows they’re far from guaranteed. “When it comes to this album, I gave it my all,” Brown says. “I didn’t know if I was gonna walk again; I didn’t know what life had for me. But the fact that I’m here in good mind and good heart and good spirit, and I can continue to create — I know that I have a purpose to serve.