He met his band after a Milledgeville singing contest. Now they’re set to rock Bragg Jam.

Matt Brantely is no stranger to Macon.

He grew up about 30 minutes away in the small town of Ivey, Georgia. Population: About 1,000 people.

He formed the Matt Brantley Band about five years ago and will once again take the stage at Bragg Jam.

Brantley said he is ready to fill the air with sounds of Southern rock and Outlaw country on July 26 and 27.

As part of The Telegraph’s series highlighting some of the artists coming to the event, we sat down with Brantley to get to know him better.

Editor’s note: Some responses have been edited for brevity.

What got you into music?

I never thought in a million years I would be singing in front of people. Mama had me sing at church a couple times and play for her.

I wound up in a contest in Milledgeville called Milledgeville Idol. I got dared to do that and ended up winning second place. I wound up meeting some guys who wanted to start a band and that is where it all started.

It was kind of weird at first because I didn’t really know what to do. Over the years, it has grown to the point that we’ve gotten kind of busy with it.

It is just one of those things that I didn’t go out looking for it. It just happened I guess. Now we have people calling and asking us to come and play.

What is it like to have people reaching out to have you and your band come to their venue?

It is kind of neat and kind of overwhelming at times because you can’t be in but one place at a time. I really enjoy it. You get to meet a lot of new people

If someone has never been to one of your shows, what can they expect?

They can expect us to have a good time with them and play some good old country and Southern rock music all night. If that is not your cup of tea, then I am sorry, that is just what we do.

What are some of your influences in your music?

My dad was big into classic rock and Southern rock, so he had me listening to the Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Later in life, we have some newer artists out that we really enjoy, like Brent Cobb, Sturgill Simpson and Cody Jinks. On the Southern rock side, I would say a new band would be Blackberry Smoke.

We are more fond of the old school stuff than the new stuff. We are definitely not a pop, (Top) 40 kind of band.

Have you played Bragg Jam before?

We have played it. It is a lot of fun. We usually wind up with an early slot so we get to enjoy some other bands while we are there.

It is always fun at Bragg Jam. We have never had a bad time or bad experience out there. So many good people and so much good music all night.

What advice do you have for first time Bragg Jam attendees?

You can come hear us so you can get primed and ready for the rest of the night. The biggest challenge is trying to see everyone that you want to see. Get you a game plan. Make sure you drink plenty of water because it is pretty hot.

Where can they check out your music?

We have some stuff on YouTube. We have done some live recordings of a few originals and some covers on there.

What is it like to get to play in a city like Macon with rich music history?

It is great, especially since I never thought I would be in a band in the first place. I always loved music. Just to be able to play where all the greats that I looked up to played, is really cool. We definitely don’t take it for granted.