Musician Gil Grand may have picked up a bit of the Nashville ‘twang’ after two decades living in the capital of country music, but you can tell his Sudbury roots the moment he speaks of his loved ones: a big northern French family — his dad has 10 brothers and nine sisters — and a home filled with music and laughter.
Though he began his career singing with local bands in Sudbury, Grand’s first taste of professional performance was as part of a national competition held in southern Ontario called the Canadian Country Music Open Entry Singing Contest. “They put your name on a plaque that sits in the Country Music Hall of Fame.” Grand said he continued to develop as an artist, but that name on the wall gave him entry into the profession. “I started to meet people in the industry who were producers and publishers in Nashville, and when they started to hear me singing and believed that I could compete at that level, they signed me and started sending me to Nashville to develop and write,” said Grand.
Then, after more than a decade of success behind the mic, Grand decided it was time to change things up. That change came with Grand & Gee Music, a Nashville-based publishing company that Grand co-owned. Soon enough, more awards, including SESAC’s Song of the Year award for his participation as a publisher on Chris Young’s No. 1 hit “Tomorrow” and a Grammy for “God And My Girlfriends” recorded by Reba McEntire.He and his partner sold the company and he headed back to his first love: singing.