"Kick It in the Sticks" is a song co-written and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer

Brantley Gilbert Brantley Keith Gilbert (born January 20, 1985) is an American country rock singer, songwriter and record producer from Jefferson, Georgia. He was originally signed to Colt Ford's label, Average Joes Entertainment, where he released '' Modern D ...

. It was originally released in 2010 and re-released in 2012 as a single from his album '' Halfway to Heaven'' via the Valory Music Group. The song was by Gilbert, along with

Rhett Akins Thomas Rhett Akins Sr. (born October 13, 1969) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Decca Records between 1994 and 1997, he released two albums for that label (1995's ''A Thousand Memories'' and 1996's ''Somebody New (a ...

and Ben Hayslip.

Critical reception

Billy Dukes of ''

Taste of Country Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

'' gave the song five stars out of five, writing that "while the aggressive guitars and spoken-word delivery can be intimidating, Gilbert's message couldn't be more welcoming." T. Ballard Lesemann, writing for the

Charleston City Paper This is a list of newspapers in South Carolina, United States. Current news publications The following is a list of current (print and web-based) news publications published in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Defunct 18th century Charlest ...

, described the 2010 version as "an authentic redneck anthem that touches all the clichés", and compared it to

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

and

nu-metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, with a metal umlaut) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu metal rarely features guita ...

Music video

The music video, which was made for the 2010 version, directed by Potsy Ponciroli, premiered on October 4, 2011. It depicts a rowdy party in the woods. T. Ballard Lesemann, writing for the

, described as looking like "something Kid Rock might have directed."

Charts and certifications (2012 version)

The 2010 release of "Kick It in the Sticks" had failed to chart, but the 2012 rendition went to number 29 on the U.S. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart and number 38 on the

Country Airplay Country Airplay is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States since October 20, 2012, although the magazine also retrospectively recognizes the Hot Country Songs charts from January 20, 1990, through October 13, 2012, ...

chart.

Chart performance

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2010 debut singles 2012 singles 2010 songs Brantley Gilbert songs Big Machine Records singles Songs written by Brantley Gilbert Songs written by Rhett Akins Songs written by Ben Hayslip Song recordings produced by Dann Huff