“By 11 I was singing and also playing the trombone,” he recalls. “I performed all through high school.” After high school, he attended nearby Purdue University and while working toward a degree in Agricultural Economics, he was also performing with the world-renowned Purdue Varsity Glee Club.

“While in the Glee Club, we sang for President George W. Bush’s second presidential inauguration, sang with the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, and even sang for Hugh Hefner and the Playboy bunnies at the Playboy Mansion in Beverly Hills,” he says.

Graduating in 2007, he began his career with a seed company and three years later, he moved to Nashville to pursue country music songwriting, while still working remotely for Fielders Choice Direct Seed Company. In Nashville, he connected with some big names and in 2012 recorded his debut album, “Eighty-eight Reasons,” which is the story of his breakup with a former fiancee. One of those who helped him along the way was his producer, Johnny Garcia, who plays lead guitar for Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood.

Shortly before that album was released, he got a promotion and moved to St. Louis to begin working for the Asgrow/Dekalb Seed Company. There, he met his now-wife, Lisa, who is a native of Holly, Michigan. “We couldn’t believe that two farm kids had to move to the big city to find each other!” he says. “We met at a bar called the Pourhouse, so we knew from the beginning we could only go up.” The following year, Grant and Lisa returned to Nashville, where he continued to pursue his musical career. They moved back to Michigan in 2014 so they could be closer to their families and raise a family of their own. Lisa currently works as the Executive Director of the Michigan Association of Fairs and Exhibitions, and Grant is now the District Sales Manager for Southeastern Michigan and Northwest Ohio, for Dairyland Seed Company.

During the past four years, Grant and his band have played a variety of Michigan and Indiana venues while he has been writing songs for his second album, which will be formally released at Bridgewater Days. “All of this album was written by me,” he says. “It was co-produced by Trey Grey, who is drummer for Reba McEntyre and Brooks & Dunn; Mike Kyle, who is Front of House Sound Engineer for B&D and Reba; and myself. Through Trey and Mike’s connections, we got several top Nashville musicians to play on the album. Jeff King (Reba’s lead guitarist) played lead guitar on the album and Mark Hill (Reba’s bassist) played Bass. We also had Gary Morse (B&D’s steel guitar player) as well as Rob Hajacos, who has played fiddle for George Strait, on the album. We also had Stuart Mathis, who played lead Guitar for the Wallflowers, play some guitar on the album as well.”

The album, “Growin’ Up Gravel” is the story of Grant’s life growing up on a gravel road in the heartland. “If you grew up in rural America, or had family in rural America, there will be a song on the album that you will connect with somehow,” he promises.

Bridgewater Days kick off Thursday, July 26 and continue through Saturday, July 28 with garage sales at the Bridgewater Commons from 9 am to 5 pm. Saturday evening, the beer tent on Boettner Road, in front of the Bridgewater Bank and Bridgewater Depot, opens at 6 pm with singer/song writer Tyler Floyd opening for Grant and his band. If you can’t make it to the release party on the 28th, he will also be playing the Lenawee and Jackson County fairs, as well as the Saline Community Fair, and he has some future dates booked at the Bridgewater Bank in August and November.