CRESWELL – Austin Gilbert didn’t think his stay on “The Voice” would last much longer than an “Eight Second Ride.”
But in one fell swoop, the former bull rider and U.S. Army veteran symbolically had gone from getting kicked off his horse to going on the thrill ride of his life.
The 25-year-old country singer from Springfield took the whole country by storm, advancing through three of the five TV rounds of last winter’s NBC show before being eliminated.
The entire experience was full of surprises – for everybody involved!
“I didn’t tell anybody I was auditioning,” Gilbert said after performing with his band to wrap up the Hell On Hooves Tour rodeo Saturday night. “All of my friends and family had been telling me for years to try out for the show, and I was like, ‘No, I want to do my own thing, make my own name.’ Finally, I got tired of everybody asking me to do it. But I didn’t want to tell anybody until I actually made it there – I didn’t want anybody to be shocked if I got cut, or whatever. … So then I finally tried out.
“Then they lost my audition, and they contacted me a month later, and said they found my audition. They wanted me to send more videos, send more pictures, let us know your entire life story … and then a couple weeks later, you’re moving on.”
It was March of 2025 when Gilbert got the call: He was going to L.A.
“When I got to L.A., there were like 86 of us there out of 60,000 people who auditioned for the show last season,” said Gilbert, who quickly ditched his day job as a warehouse employee. “All this crazy talent that was blowing me away. We were doing these rehearsals and practices, and some people actually got sent home before the preparations.
“I got two chair turns from Michael Buble and Niall Horan from One Direction. I went with Michael Buble for my coach, and I got paired up with Rob Cole from Pembrook, N.C. – a good buddy of mine, and for the first time in the show’s history, they let us pick our own battle partners – and just the night before Rob and I had said, ‘Wouldn’t it be crazy for us to pair up since we’re the only country singers?’ So we worked super hard on the song ‘Honey Bee’ by Blake Shelton. I don’t know if it was nerves or what, but I wasn’t hitting my notes. And I had a really bad night. And I was cheering harder than anybody in the crowd for Rob to win. I was so happy for him, but I was focused on talking to Michael. Then Michael leaned over and said, ‘Brother, you’re not going home, Reba just stole you.’”
“I didn’t even realize it, but Reba McEntire had just hit the steal button, and at that moment I hit my knees and started bawling.
“Me and Reba were both in tears – she had just lost her stepson,” Gilbert said. “It was a very emotional moment.”
Gilbert then got a chance to sing “Eight Second Ride” by Jake Owen.
“It’s one of the childhood songs that I know every single word to since I was about 5,” Gilbert said. “And it was the best performance I’ve ever given in my whole life.”
Gilbert’s showings on “The Voice” have turned his career upside-down – in all the best of ways.
“I was just a hometown local bar guy,” said Gilbert, a former Salem resident who now lives in Springfield. “Now we’re playing huge stages and opening for multi-platinum-selling acts like Mitchell Tenpenny (July 10). We’re putting out original music on the same day we open for him.
“I’m now a full-time musician pursuing my dream. I hope I make it. If I don’t, I’m going to have one heckuva time trying.”
Gilbert already has finished one career – as a serviceman. He spent five years in the Army – 3½ of those in Germany – and was also stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. He doesn’t hear very well, courtesy of working as a 13-Mike multiple launch rocket crew member.
And when it comes to being around bulls, this was far from his first rodeo. He rode briefly on the Hell On Hooves Tour, so being a part of Saturday’s festivities was one big happy homecoming.
“This Fourth of July means a lot to me,” Gilbert said, as his band put on a stirring show with an eclectic mix of iconic favorites.
The only unfortunate aspect was the size of the crowd. It had been a long afternoon for the sellout crowd at the rodeo, and only about 30-40 people stuck around until the end. Gilbert said that’s the nature of the beast when you perform at rodeos.
“I tell everybody, whether we play for three people or 3,000 people, we will give the same exact show every time, and put the same amount of effort into our music,” Gilbert said. “We have some of the best band players in the state, and we want everybody to come to our shows, and we want to play music that everybody can vibe to.”
Trey Wormsbecker is only 21, yet he often stands out with his deft lead guitar playing. Besides playing in his church and community, Wormsbecker has his own jam band called Pekin that plays mostly in Eugene.
On Saturday, Gilbert’s band did a sampling of his originals, like “Rodeo by Day, Honky Tonk by Night” and “Eight Seconds in a Song.”
“I don’t like to brag, but I wrote that song,” Gilbert said, referring to the ‘Rodeo by Day.’ “And I could see that song jumping to No. 1 on the country charts.”
It’s a catchy song with a catchy title. With a little bit of luck …
They also did some country (“Friends in Low Places” – Garth Brooks), some Southern rock (“Simple Man” – Lynyrd Skynyrd), some hard rock (“Hysteria” – Def Leppard), and some soul (“Careless Whisper” – George Michael), showing that they truly are a band for everyone.
