Nickelback wants to “try something different” on tour with Brantley Gilbert

ABC/Paula Lobo

This is how we remind you that Nickelback is going back on tour.

The Canadian rockers launch a North American run Monday, June 12, in Quebec City. Joining them on the trek will be country star Brantley Gilbert, who Chad Kroeger feels is not as surprising of an opener as you might think.

“‘Photograph’ is damn near a country song,” Kroeger tells ABC Audio. “‘Rockstar’ is damn near a country song.”

Gilbert has become something of a go-to bridge between the worlds of hard rock and country, having toured with Five Finger Death Punch last year.

“I would think that Five Finger Death Punch is a further stretch than we are,” Kroeger says, adding that Gilbert is more of a “country rock” artist, anyway.

“We weren’t going all the way to something that was so indicative of country,” he says. “So it just doesn’t feel like that big of a stretch to me.”

Still, touring with an artist such as Gilbert allowed for Nickelback to “try something different.”

“We didn’t wanna try and take out one of the same six or eight acts that we’ve been doing for the last decade or so,” Kroeger says. “We wanted to try something new, expand the horizons, and draw from a different fan base.”

Nickelback will be touring in support of their new album, Get Rollin’, which includes the singles “San Quentin” and “Those Days.”