Brent Cobb has a Grammy-nominated album under his belt and will take the stage as the headlining act at the Levitt Lot Thursday night for the fourth week of the 10-week Levitt AMP Middlesboro Music Series.

“It is week four and we are so excited,” Emily Ayers, Director of Middlesboro Main Street exclaimed. “Brent Cobb is going to bring a great show to the Levitt Stage, and everyone needs to be a part of this exciting night.”

With a Grammy nominated album, Cobb is an American country music singer-songwriter who seamlessly blends South Georgia soul and country rock.

“I feel like my music has always come kind of natural to me,” Cobb explained of his signature sound. “I don’t know what you would call it, Rural-Soul-Country. I’m a songwriter/singer but a songwriter first, not a singer first but I have a rock and roll band.”

He and his three-piece band are made up of Americana Award nominated drummer Jerry Pentecost, guitarist Mike Harris, and bassist Jason Kott, and together they have released three studio albums and one EP.

“It’s a really neat time in music,” he said. “To be able to come up with folks like Chris Stapleton, and of course you’ve got Tyler Childers who’s doing really good right now; Sturgill (Simpson) and Nikki Lane and Margo Price, it’s just a really cool scene to be a part of, and I feel welcomed there. I don’t know what you’d call us, maybe the misfits but for some reason, folks are listening to it right now.”

Cobb has been writing music his whole life and was able to land professionally with a publishing deal in 2008 when he first moved to Nashville.

“A lot of other artists started recording songs I had written over the last 10 years,” he said. “I just grew up around it. My daddy was a musician, my uncles and my grandpas were musicians, so I had grown up with it. But, I didn’t turn it into a profession until I was about 18 or so.”

He explains that the fans can get the best of both worlds this Thursday night when he and his band take the Levitt Stage.

“The show you get is the best of both worlds,” he explained. “I think what people can expect is that I’m a song writer first. The songs I write, they mean something and it’s not just to be popular but I have a rock and roll band, so it will be a fun show. You’ll hear plenty of stories and a lot of times when I come into towns like this, it always sort of feels like home. Folks around those kinds of places are a lot alike, and it always feels warm and welcoming.”

He said he and his band are excited to be in Middlesboro for the first time and performing on the Levitt Stage.

“It’s so nice to hear that everybody’s excited about us coming there because a year or two ago, nobody would have known us,” Cobb expressed. “It makes me feel like what I’m doing is working. I tell a joke a lot of the time at my shows, I’ll say it’s taken me 13 years to get to the bottom but I’m just glad to be here. It’s the truth.”

The Rolling Stone wrote, “The 30 year old has written and recorded some of the most beautiful, clear-eyed material to come out of Nashville over these past 12 months. His excellent debut album, Shine on Rainy Day, produced by his cousin Dave Cobb and released in October, is full of gentle, homespun tales of Southern life – particularly his own… he differs from some populist country artists, falling in line more with the singer-songwriter ideals of the Americana movement.”

Brent Cobb will take the Levitt Stage this Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.

Opening for Cobb at 6:30 p.m. is country music singer-songwriter Chris Blake from the Appalachian Mountains of Southeastern Kentucky. Blake’s music is described as a satisfying mix of the traditional country sound and modern lyrics that is relatable.

Food vendors will be set up to serve food on the blocked off area of Cumberland Avenue beginning at 6 p.m.

New this year, a local artist, such as sketch, photography, painter, etc., will be featured each week with their works of art being displayed. This Thursday, photography from both Danny Vaughn and Ray Welch can be enjoyed by community.

The Levitt AMP concert series is located at 2005 West Cumberland Avenue, Middlesboro, KY 40965 next to Fountain Square.