Though it’s a customary tradition to exchange parting gifts at the end of a successful tour, newcomer Brantley Gilbert learned firsthand after the first leg the Blood, Sweat and Beers Tour wrapped earlier this year that Eric Church goes above and beyond with presents.

“For the end of the tour present, he totally one-upped me on the gift,” Gilbert says of Church’s generosity (quote via GAC). “I got him a bottle of whiskey from Colorado and a biker ring. So he invited me on his bus and his wife brings out this huge picture of the show in Nashville that we sold out, and it had a plaque that said ‘Presented to Brantley Gilbert by Eric Church.’”

The ‘Springsteen’ singer also treated Gilbert to a unique, one-of-a-kind gift, which really blew Gilbert’s whiskey away. “Then he brings out this case and it looks like a violin case, and it’s a shotgun from 1968,” recalls the ‘You Don’t Know Her Like I Do’ singer and firearms enthusiast. “It is unbelievable; it’s probably the only gun I have that I’ll never shoot. I guess he knew I was a gun guy. I don’t know how he figured that out. But he totally outdid me on the gift giving part.”

While on the road, the country superstars also collaborated offstage, writing a few songs in between their sold-out arena concerts. With both artists’ red-hot streak of chart-topping tracks, it remains to be seen who will get to cut the tunes for their next project.

“We’re gonna have to battle over whether they’ll be for him or for me,” Gilbert jokes.

Will Gilbert’s current headliner carry on the tradition of lavish gifting? We’ll have to wait until next month when he wraps his opening gig on Toby Keith’s Live in Overdrive outing to find out!

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