Colt Ford Makes Surprise Appearance With Brantley Gilbert In First Return To The Stage Since His Heart Attack

Great to see Colt back on stage. Back in April, Colt Ford suffered a massive heart attack after a show at Dierks Bentley's Whiskey Row in Gilbert, Arizona. The legendary country rapper was rushed to the ER, and later provided an update on the Big D & Bubba Show on just how serious it was: "I don’t even remember coming out here to do a show in Phoenix... I died three times. Luckily, my band came out to check on me…they came out to check on me, and then all of a sudden they were like, ‘Oh God,’ and then that is when all hell broke loose.” But he considered himself lucky that it happened when it did to enable him to get such great care: “This Mayo Clinic out here in Phoenix, if it was going to happen, God could not have had me in a better place. The big doc out here said, ‘I wouldn’t give me 1%, but I give you 0.1% that you’d survive.’” Colt has been recovering since then, but he's remained determined to get back on stage and back out on the road. And this weekend, he was finally able to make his first appearance since suffering his heart attack - alongside one of his best friends. Brantley Gilbert held his album release party on Broadway in downtown Nashville this past Friday. And during the show, he had an extra mic stand beside him that belonged to Colt Ford. As he's explained at some of his other shows, Brantley has kept the mic stand with him until Colt was able to use it himself. "The good news is he's back to sending inappropriate text messages to people. Looks like we got our boy back. But I told him when he came to, I made a deal with him, I said, 'Man, listen, when the doctors release you to play some shows you're coming with us. And until then, we're gonna hang on to this guy.'" Well Colt Ford finally got to use his mic stand again this past Friday, when Brantley surprised the crowd by welcoming him to the stage in Nashville. And before they performed their hit song "Dirt Road Anthem," Colt had some words of appreciation for his friend who he credits with saving his life: "I promised you I was going to get well enough to walk out on this stage here with you tonight. Guys, it's been a long, tough road. This man is one of the reasons I'm still here. He fought for them to get me to another hospital and they saved my life. So if you ever want him, you'll have to kill me." Obviously the crowd was excited to see Colt back on stage, but it doesn't look like anybody was more excited he was there than Colt himself: Great to see him recovering and getting back out on stage.