Brantley Gilbert Cancels Show Due to Death of Longtime Crew Member
Brantley Gilbert canceled a show in Pittsburgh on Saturday (Aug. 31) after a longtime crew member died unexpectedly. The country star and his team are mourning the death of Alan Ditch, who worked with Gilbert for most of a decade.
The Observer-Reporter reports that Ditch collapsed at the KeyBank Pavilion at around 2:45PM on Saturday after he "suffered a cardiac event." He was pronounced dead at around 4:30PM. Ditch was 49 years old.
Gilbert's assistant tour manager, Corey Robertson, tells the Observer-Reporter that Ditch was Gilbert's monitor engineer. The Lewisport, Ky., native had worked with the "What Happens in a Small Town" singer for eight years.
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The venue turned to Twitter at around 5PM on Saturday to announce that Gilbert was having to cancel his planned show, writing, "Brantley Gilbert’s touring crew lost a key member today unexpectedly and out of respect for the family, they are postponing the show tonight in Pittsburgh."
A makeup date has not yet been announced. The Washington County coroner's office is not investigating Ditch's death as suspicious, according to the Observer-Reporter.
Gilbert turned to social media on Wednesday (Sept. 4) to share a video titled 'In Loving Memory of Alan Ditch,' compiling video footage and photographs of Ditch from various backstage, onstage and travel situations with Gilbert's band and crew over the years. Click the video at the top of the story to watch the touching tribute.
Gilbert is currently on the road for his Not Like Us Tour. He is set to release a new album, Fire and Brimstone, on Oct. 4. He and Lindsay Ell were recently nominated for a CMA Award in the category of Musical Event of the Year for their collaboration on "What Happens in a Small Town."
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