Troy Gentry
“Heading to Medford, New Jersey to play tomorrow! Ya looking forward to the show? WE ARE!” Tragically, just hours after Montgomery Gentry posted this excitable tweet in 2017, the younger half of the country duo had perished in a plane crash.
Troy Gentry had made his name alongside Eddie Montgomery in the early ’00s with Southern rock-tinged anthems such as “She Couldn’t Change Me” and “My Town,” picking up best newcomer gongs at both the CMA and ACM ceremonies. The pair had just completed their ninth studio effort, Here’s to You, when tragedy struck in September 2017.
According to NJ.com, both Gentry and pilot James Evan Robinson lost their lives when the small aircraft they were traveling in crashed near the Flying W Airport & Resort’s runway in Medford, New Jersey. Gentry’s longtime musical partner was waiting at the airport for his arrival at the time of the incident, which according to an official report (via Courthouse News), was caused by pilot error. He went on to extend the 50-year-old’s legacy by continuing to record and tour as Montgomery Gentry.