Gabby Barrett was honored by her hometown during a special show over the weekend when the American Idol alum performed at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh is Barrett’s hometown, and she headlined a postgame concert following the Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday night (Aug. 11) that came with a few special surprises.
Ahead of the show, Barrett received a key to the city from Munhall Mayor Robert Falce and County Executive Rich Fitzgerald declared August 11, 2023, as “Gabby Barrett Day” in Allegheny County.
Homecoming Concert
Barrett celebrated the special evening in a post on Instagram, sharing a video of the venue filled with thousands of fans.
“I am not sure where to start… last night, being in Pittsburgh (my hometown) and headlining a place I remember most of the time performing hardly to anyone, for years and years – there was now 31,000 thousand people in attendance for the show,” she captioned the clip. “I cannot put into words the emotions I was balancing before walking on stage.”
“Nothing Short Of An Honor”
The mom of two added that receiving a key to the city “was nothing short of an honor.”
“God is blessing & we’re here for the ride,” she concluded. “Thank you to my fans that have been there and supported allllllll through these years. It was so wonderful to see familiar faces. Until we return back… Thank you!!!!”

Before her performance, Barrett and her husband, Cade Foehner, visited The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh & Lemieux Family Center.
Barrett’s musical journey started at a young age when she joined a gospel choir at age 9 before performing anywhere she could, including PNC Park, where she performed the national anthem for the Pirates on multiple occasions.
“After I started to sing the national anthem for the Pirates and started to do my own shows, I was searching myself — as much as I could at 11 and 12 — about what I liked and wanted to sing,” Barrett told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “That definitely landed in country music.”
“I had a large map of influences, but, when I honed it into what I really liked, it ended up being country – but more of an edgier kind of country,” she added.

“Glory Days”
That sound will be explored to a further degree on Barrett’s upcoming sophomore album, which doesn’t yet have a release date. Earlier this summer, Barrett shared the project’s first single, “Glory Days,” which is currently climbing at country radio.
“When I was in the writing process, I remembered my parents saying, ‘Oh, those were the good old days, the glory days,” Barrett reflected. “It’s always seen as something you look back on, but I was thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, I’m in the midst of the glory days.’ With everything happening with family and career, and in this phase of raising small children in a loud house, I’m in my glory days right now.”
Barrett penned “Glory Days” with Seth Mosley, Emily Weisband and James McNair.
“It was a fun, touching song to write, and I absolutely love performing it live,” she said. “It goes with the theme of my next album, which is very much about where I’m at in life. I think people will get to know me better from what it speaks about.”
Forthcoming New Album
“Glory Days” is the first track from Gabby Barrett’s forthcoming, yet-to-be-announced sophomore album, which she is co-producing alongside Ross Copperman.
While Barrett has yet to announce a release date for the project, she did reveal that it is “almost finished” and that it is expected to debut later this year in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.
“Hopefully, like, early fall is the goal,” Barrett told the outlet.

The project will also feature songs co-written by Luke Combs and Miranda Lambert.
Additionally, the Pennsylvania native’s forthcoming album will follow her record-breaking debut album, Goldmine, which spawned chart-topping hits such as “The Good Ones” and her debut single “I Hope.”
Barrett also released a deluxe edition of Goldmine, which featured four new songs, including “Pick Me Up,” “Never Get It Back,” “The Good Ones (Wedding Version),” and a cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” in addition to the 13 original tracks.