Luke Bryan Wraps 15th Annual ‘Farm Tour’

/by

Luke Bryan performs during “Farm Tour.” Photo: Eder Acevedo

For 15 years, country mainstay Luke Bryan has been bringing legions of fans to farms across America for his annual “Farm Tour.”

Since its inception in 2009, more than 100,000 have attended each year. Gathered on fields in rural areas around the country, attendees have enjoyed music from Bryan and a slew of openers, enjoyed local vendors and visited lesser-traveled to areas of the country.

Luke Bryan corn maze at Farm Tour stop in Utah, designed by The MAiZE Inc.

Bryan has also used “Farm Tour” to give back. To date, he’s awarded 84 college scholarships to students from farming families who are attending the local college or university near the tour stops. And when presenting sponsor Bayer joined the tour in 2015, Bryan was able to do even more with the #HerestotheFarmer campaign. Activating fans to share the hashtag provides one meal to a person in need per every share. Since the partnership’s inception, nine million meals have been donated to Feeding America member food banks.

Bryan wrapped the 2024 iteration of “Farm Tour” this weekend with shows in Shelbyville, Kentucky and Smithton, Pennsylvania. MusicRow attended the rainy Kentucky stop to check out all the fun.

Though bad weather was setting in from the beginnings of Hurricane Helene, fans were ready for country music. DJ Rock set the vibe as people filed in and breakout star Tucker Wetmore soon took the stage.

He impressed the crowd with his streaming heaters, “What Would You Do,” “Wine Into Whiskey” and “Wind Up Missin’ You,” and also played new song “Silverado Blue.”

Ben Haslip, Tucker Wetmore, Luke Bryan, Rhett Akins, Conner Smith, DJ Rock and Rodney Clawson. Photo: Eder Acevedo

The Peach Pickers‘ Rhett Akins and Ben Hayslip were then joined by Rodney Clawson on stage as the second act. They played a selection of some of their many hits, giving Kentucky fans a taste of Nashville with performances of their penned “Small Town Boy,” “Boys Round Here” and many more. They said they weren’t allowed to play any Luke Bryan songs, although they had many hits together, but they played a few snippets anyway.

Next up was singer-songwriter Conner Smith, who came out hot on the drizzly stage with “Heatin’ Up.” He played his popular originals like “I Hate Alabama” and “Take It Slow,” and threw in a few fun covers of “Dixieland Delight,” “Mud On The Tires” and “Big Green Tractor.”

Smith brought Wetmore back out to perform their Twisters movie collaboration “Steal My Thunder,” which proved to be a highlight of the night. He also said a prayer for the farmers whose land would ultimately be affected by Hurricane Helene, and played new song “Faith From A Farmer.” Smith closed with his infectious hit “Creek Will Rise.”

When Bryan hit the stage, the rain had picked up. It persisted throughout the show, making for a slippery catwalk on stage and a mud hole on the farm, but Bryan wasn’t phased. He thrilled the Kentucky crowd with “That’s My Kind Of Night” before getting everyone dancing in the weather with “Rain Is A Good Thing.”

Bryan kept the party energy going with “Move,” “One Margarita” and “But I Got A Beer In My Hand” before sending the couples in the crowd into each other’s arms with “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” and new single “Love You, Miss You, Mean It.”

After rousing the country folks in the audience with “What Makes You Country” and making everybody blush with “Knockin’ Boots,” Bryan brought Smith and Wetmore back out for Florida Georgia Line‘s part of “This Is How We Roll.” The men roughhoused and slid around on stage in the water, creating a fun, rowdy moment for the audience.

Luke Bryan performs during “Farm Tour.” Photo: Eder Acevedo

One of the evening’s highlights came when Bryan stood alone on stage with an acoustic guitar. He traveled through a series of special songs, like “Buy Dirt,” which hit different on a field in beautiful, rural Kentucky, and “Country On.” He tipped his ball cap to the late Toby Keith with a performance of “Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue,” which fans loved, and got everyone remembering their lost loved ones with “Drink A Beer.”

Bryan then reminded the crowd that his eighth studio album, Mind Of A Country Boy, would be coming out at midnight. “It’s the greatest album in the history of mankind,” he said with a wink.

“Do you like to deer hunt, Kentucky? Who likes to fish?” Bryan exclaimed to a rebel-yelled response. “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day” was perhaps the crowd-favorite of the night.

To close out the fun, Bryan blitzed the crowd with hits “Kick The Dust Up,” “Play It Again” and “I Don’t Want This Night To End.” Before he disappeared onto dry ground, he closed with “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” and sent everyone back to their cars, arm-in-arm singing some of the biggest hits of the last 20 years of country music.

LB Cantrell
Latest posts by LB Cantrell (see all)