Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and musician Brent Cobb will release his debut gospel album, And Now, Let’s Turn To Page…, January 28th via his own label, Ol’ Buddy Records (pre-order here). Ahead of the release, ‘We Shall Rise’ is debuting today. Listen/share here.
Produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb (Brandi Carlile, Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton) and recorded at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A, the record features new renditions of eight traditional gospel songs that have been a cherished part of Cobb’s life, as well as one original track, ‘When It’s My Time’, written by Cobb, his wife, Layne, and Mike Harmeier. With these nine songs, Cobb pays homage to the community and values of his hometown of Ellaville, GA, while still incorporating his acclaimed signature sound - imbuing these gospel standards with elements of country, blues and southern rock in a way that is authentically and uniquely Cobb.
Although the album has been a long-time dream for Cobb, it has only come to fruition now due to a near-death experience in July 2020, when the vehicle that he was driving, with his young son inside, got T-boned at a rural four-way stop. Following the crash, Cobb found himself with a renewed outlook on life, remembering, “You just start piecing together how everything is sort of intentional… I’d always had it in the back of my mind to make a gospel album. That moment of clarity, of almost getting killed, made me think I should just make the gospel album now.”
A deeply personal project, And Now, Let’s Turn To Page… finds Cobb surrounded by those who mean the most to him, with his wife Layne Cobb, his mother Renee Cobb, his sister Alecia Grant, his father Patrick Cobb and his cousin Dave Cobb all joining him on closing track, ‘Blessed Be The Tie That Binds’. Additional musicians featured across the album include Brian Allen (bass), Mike Harris (guitar), Chris Powell (drums, percussion) and Philip Towns (keyboards) and as well as special background vocals from Anderson East, Caylee Hammack (a fellow Ellaville, GA native) and members of Antioch, a Georgia-based gospel group led by Cobb’s father.
Reflecting on the project, Cobb shares, “I’ve always wanted to make a southern gospel album because it’s what I come from, but also it used to seem like a rite of passage for country singers to make a gospel album. I’m just trying to carry on that torch.”
The new album adds to an already notable career for the Grammy-nominated artist following the release of 2016’s Shine On Rainy Day, 2018’s Providence Canyon and most recently, 2020’s Keep ‘Em On They Toes. Released last fall to widespread acclaim, Rolling Stone praises the album asserting, “his most down-home record yet… if 2018’s nostalgic ‘Providence Canyon’ was Cobb pining for the Peach State of his youth, ‘Keep ‘Em on They Toes’ is him happy at home in the present,” while Grammy.com proclaims, “realistic, humorous, lyric-driven songwriting… highlights Cobb’s tales of individualism and honesty with peerless precision” and Vice declares, “as strong of a songwriter as ever.” Moreover, Cobb released his first children’s book, Little Stuff, this past June, which was written as a reflection on what’s truly important in life and was inspired by Cobb’s song of the same name from Keep ‘Em On They Toes.
Cobb has earned nominations for Best Americana Album at the 60th GRAMMY Awards and Emerging Artist of the Year at the 2017 Americana Honours & Awards. He has also been featured on ‘CONAN’, ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ and NPR Music’s ‘Tiny Desk Concert’ series and has toured extensively across the world including numerous performances as part of Chris Stapleton’s ‘All-American Road Show’.
AND NOW, LET’S TURN TO PAGE… TRACK LIST
1. Just A Closer Walk With Thee
2. When It’s My Time
3. In The Garden
4. Are You Washed in the Blood?
5. Softly and Tenderly
6. Old Rugged Cross
7. We Shall Rise
8. Old Country Church
9. Blessed Be The Tie That Binds
BRENT COBB UK TOUR DATES
December 1—Manchester, UK—Manchester Academy*
December 2—Leeds, UK—O2 Academy Leeds*
December 3—Birmingham, UK—O2 Institute*
December 5—Nottingham, UK—Rock City*
December 6—Newcastle, UK—Newcastle Academy*
December 7—Glasgow, UK—O2 Academy Glasgow*
December 9—London, UK—Roundhouse*
December 11—Cardiff, UK—The Great Hall*
December 12—Dublin, Ireland—Whelan’s*
December 13—Belfast, UK—Limelight*
*with The Cadillac Three
