Brantley Gilbert can’t wait to share his new “Tattoos.”

He’s not talking about the ones that cover much of his body. “Tattoos” is the title of Gilbert’s seventh album, which will be released less than two weeks after he performs Sunday at the Canfield Fair with Sadie Bass opening.

“We started working on this one before the last one (2022’s ‘So Help Me God’) came out,” Gilbert said during a telephone interview. “And it’s been done now for months. It’s just kind of hurry up and wait. I’ve never been a big fan of that, but it’s part of it. I’m getting a little more used to it. I’ve been doing this now, this has been my main hustle for about 20 years, so they don’t nominate us for new artist anymore. But yeah, man, I’m excited about everybody hearing it, and it’s right around the corner now, so fingers crossed.”

When “Tattoos” comes out Sept. 13, Gilbert is planning what is being billed as the “World’s Largest Album Release Party” on Broadway, Nashville’s main drag.

“We are shutting down Nashville,” Gilbert said. “We’re setting the stage up in the middle of Broadway, and we’re just going to do it full send, and it’s, you know, Grand Prix weekend. There’ll be a lot of folks in town for the race, and we’ve got a lot of folks coming in. Feedback on it’s been amazing. It seems like everybody’s excited as we are, so we’re just ready to set up and go. I think if folks swing by Nashville Sept. 13, they’re going to see something they’ve never seen before. It is the largest pyro package we’ve ever put together. It’s just going to be different.”

That doesn’t mean the local audience will be left out. Gilbert said he plans to play about five of the new songs as well as the old favorites, and Gilbert has plenty of those. Since 2005 he’s had five songs top Billboard’s Country and/or Country Airplay charts (“Country Must Be Country Wide,” “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do,” “Bottoms Up,” “One Hell of an Amen” and “What Happens in a Small Town”) and 10 more that have cracked the top 40.

For a man as inked as Gilbert, “Tattoos” seems like a natural topic to explore in music, but it’s something he resisted for a long time.

“Just about every writing room you walked in, everybody wanted to write a tattoo song, and I was dead set against it, because most of the tattoo songs I’ve ever heard, it really sucked,” Gilbert said. “You know, they’ve been about, ‘Look how tough I am.’ I’ve gotten tattoos. And real tattoo people, those of us that are covered in them, I would say, generally, we don’t feel like that. That’s not why we got them. They tell stories. They’re mine. I have several reminders on me and tributes to those who passed away. I got my kids’ names on me and clocks with their names on them that kind of remind me that I don’t have much time with them, so make every second count. They tell a story and they tell who you are.

“It’s just a different approach to a tattoo song that I haven’t heard, and it really is true to my heart, because every line of that song I can point to the tattoo on me that I’m talking about. So it’s really personal. I found through the years that the songs you write to be commercial or relatable, with that being a goal, they never turn out as relatable as the songs that just feel so close to you. You may think that nobody can relate to this, it’s too personal, and those are the ones that folks usually gravitate to, so I’m excited about it, man.”

The new album features several guest appearances. Former Rascal Flatts lead singer Gary LeVox is featured on “God Isn’t Country,” Justin Moore sings on “Dirty Money,” Struggle Jennings is on “Me and My House,” and Gilbert trades lead vocals with Ashley Cooke on the lead single, “Over When We’re Sober,” which Gilbert co-wrote with country star Jelly Roll, Brock Berryhill and Justin Wilson.

“Nobody wants to see me and Jelly Roll sing to each other,” Gilbert said. “We know it’s a duet, so then the conversation becomes, ‘OK, who is the right woman for the job, and my producer brought up Ashley Cook’s name. I immediately remembered we had done a show with her a couple months prior. I always try to go out and watch the opening acts and see what they’re bringing to the table. I remember watching her and just being blown away. She just walked around on the stage like she’d been doing it 20 years. I remember being really impressed with that and meeting her after and just, you know, she’s just an incredible person, man.

“Her engineer sent us like her original vocal — not tuned, stripped down, just her and a microphone, and she absolutely killed it. And after that, there was no question at all she was the right one for the job.”

“Tattoos” isn’t Gilbert’s only upcoming release. Gilbert and his wife are expecting their third child later this year. This pregnancy wasn’t planned, and that presents a unique problem for the way Gilbert tells his story.

“Number three was a very, very pleasant surprise. I thought we were done and covered up my entire front of my torso with my two kids. Now I’ve got a little bit of space on my back so I know what’s happening there. When that’s done, I’ll be completely covered upstairs.”

If you go…

WHO: Brantley Gilbert and Sadie Bass

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: Canfield Fairgrounds Grandstand, 7265 Columbiana-Canfield Road

HOW MUCH: Tickets range from $39.50 to $99.50 and are available through Ticketmaster and at the Canfield Fair Grandstand box office.