Pictured at today’s announcement (L-R): Live Nation’s Brian O’Connell, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Kyle Young, Luke Bryan and manager Kerri Edwards. Photo: Alan Poizner
Luke Bryan’s 2015 schedule includes a few firsts and a few lasts. He will perform overseas for the first time, and will christen a few stadiums (including Vanderbilt’s) as the first country artist to perform there. He will also perform his last spring break concert in Florida, ending a tradition that drew over 230,000 fans in 2014.
Bryan’s Kick The Dust Up Tour will launch May 8 in Grand Forks, ND. Several cities on the outing will host two-night arena stands. Seven stadiums are on the schedule, with his first stadium concert of the year set for June 6 in Denver. Bryan will be the first country act to play in St. Paul’s stadium (June 20) and Nashville’s Vanderbilt football stadium (July 11). Joining Bryan for all dates will be Dustin Lynch and Randy Houser. Stadium concerts will additionally feature Florida Georgia Line and Thomas Rhett.
Bryan shared news about his tour during a press conference at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville this morning (Jan. 21). Having played to 1.7 million fans last year, Bryan says he’s more confident than ever going into 2015. “This is still only my third year of true headlining. I don’t ever want to take for granted being able to do a double [show] in a city. It’s nice having that confidence that we’ll be able to roll in there and add to production and add to the show. Our fans have shown me that they are going to show up in full support, and we can start stretching our boundaries on how big we want to make the show. It’s a wonderful place to be in, to announce the show and have true excitement of what’s to come, not necessarily the anxiety of whether we going to be able to pull it off or not.”
Pictured (L-R): Luke Bryan, Brian O’Connell share details of Bryan’s upcoming tour.
The singer-songwriter recalled the lesson he learned from his first stadium show. “I never will forget when we walked onstage for the first time in Heinz Field last year in Pittsburgh. It was my first stadium show. I remember hitting that stage and thinking, ‘Well the only way to learn how to do this is to run your butt out there and do it.’ I remember at the end of the show, thinking, ‘Well, that was an experience.’ That’s what you live for, pushing yourself. Now I have four stadium [shows] behind me, and now I’ll know a little better how to make every fan feel special.”
Bryan has decided to end his run of spring break shows in Panama City, Fla. after this year. He will perform two free concerts at Spinnaker Beach Club on March 11 and 12. His seventh spring break album Spring Break…Checkin’ Out will be released March 10.
In 2015, Bryan is touring overseas for the first time. He ventured to Canada last year and is going to Europe in February and March, playing festivals and clubs in the UK, Germany, Ireland, Sweden and Norway, including four C2C: Country to Country shows.
Brian O’Connell, Pres. of Live Nation Country Touring, joined him at today’s event which was streamed live on Bryan’s website. CMHoF director Kyle Young came onstage to announce that Bryan will be the subject of the Museum’s next major exhibition, set to open in May. Fan club members were also in attendance.
“Just five or six years ago, I walked Broadway and these streets, walking by the Country Music Hall of Fame, being in this room and being all through the halls of this place,” said Bryan. “My parents used to come to town and I’d take them to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Now family and friends can come to town and see an exhibit of mine is truly…I remember driving down Music Row and seeing Carrie [Underwood]’s ad on the billboards, and wondering if that would ever happen to me. When you consider how much attention and how Nashville is such a bubbling, vibrant city and all the people coming through here and they can see part of my life on display, it’s exciting. I’m sure my boys [Thomas Boyer, age 6, and Tatum Christopher, age 4] will have some interesting things to say about seeing dad behind the cases.”
Bryan’s career tally includes 11 No. 1 hits, 7 million albums, and 27 million tracks sold. He also promises a new album soon. “We were in the studio in conjunction with recording the Spring Break album, and we recorded four new songs to start wrapping our heads around the new album, and ‘Kick The Dust Up’ was one of those new songs. I only have four songs recorded, so that tells you how much work we still have to do on the album.”
Cabela’s is a sponsor of the tour. Cabela’s Club Visa members and Citi cardmembers will have exclusive ticketing options.
For a complete list of tour dates visit lukebryan.com.
-with additional reporting by Jessica Nicholson
Live Nation Entertainment revealed plans today (Jan. 27) to launch Chicago’s first major country music festival, Windy City LakeShake.
