Brian Grilli sang about the land below the Mason-Dixon line on his 2018 breakthrough Deep South Symphony, but the country-fried singer/songwriter hails from Lansing, Illinois. Despite being ensconced in the Midwest, Illinois has its share of rednecks, and Grilli nearly counts as one. He plays a hybrid of Southern rock, country-rock, and Americana, a sound that recalls the Black Crowes and suited Sons of Anarchy, the biker drama that provided the singer/songwriter his first break in 2012. Grilli kept working away until 2018, when Deep South Symphony made its way onto Billboard's Country Album Sales chart. A native of Lansing, Brian Grilli enlisted in the United States Navy, where he worked as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Once he competed 16 years of service, he began playing music professionally. He had started playing guitar back when he was eight and continued to play through his time in the Navy, but once he left the military, he focused on making a go of it as a musician. Initially part of a band called the Trailerhood, Grilli went solo at the dawn of the 2010s. His song "Letters from an Outlaw" appeared on the seventh season of Sons of Anarchy. It also appeared on his debut album, Damn Good Day, which was released by Rugby Records in 2013. "My Hometown," his 2016 single, was an ode to Lansing. It was included on Deep South Symphony, an album produced by Andy Andersson in Nashville and released on Spectra Music Group in 2018. Deep South Symphony reached number 18 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart and 25 on their Top Country Album Sales chart. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine