Country singer Luke Bryan takes lessons from top acts on 1st major headlining tour this fall
Country star Luke Bryan is kicking off his first major headlining tour with CMT on Tour this September, exactly 10 years after he arrived in Nashville looking for a record deal.
“If you move to town and you don’t dream to headline your own shows one day, then I don’t think you’re necessarily aiming your sights high enough,” Bryan told The Associated Press in a recent phone interview. “That’s kind of where we’re at today, and we’re just wanting to get out there and enjoy headlining.”
Bryan will be bringing along special guests Lee Brice and Josh Thompson.
This year also marks the 10th anniversary of CMT on Tour. Former headliners include reigning CMA entertainer of the year Brad Paisley who launched the tour in 2002 as well as Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, Sugarland, Jason Aldean and last year’s anchor Miranda Lambert.
Bryan hopes the tour will serve as a similar springboard for his career. He has toured with Aldean, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney and currently Tim McGraw. All the while, he has been paying attention.
“You learn it’s tough work doing what we do. You don’t just snap your fingers and everything lines up easily for you,” Bryan said. “I’ve watched them. I’ve watched all the work they put into their tours. You never take your fans for granted. You always appreciate them every show, night in, night out.”
CMT looks at a range of indicators to determine the best artist to front the tour, and performance across all CMT platforms is key. Bryan, for example, has remained one of CMT.com’s Top 20 artists for the past two months. His music videos have also performed consistently on-air. “Rain Is A Good Thing” spent 19 weeks on the CMT “Top 20 Countdown”. His latest single, “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)” debuted at No. 12 last week.
“CMT on Tour: Luke Bryan Tailgates & Tanlines” kicks off in September for approximately 25 shows. Cities and dates will be announced soon.
Bryan will release his third studio album, “Tailgates & Tanlines”, August 9.
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AP Entertainment writer Chris Talbott contributed to this report.
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Online:
http://www.lukebryan.com
http://www.cmt.com
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Caitlin R. King can be reached at: http://www.twitter.com/AP_Country
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Luke Bryan rocks 'Country Girl (Shake It For Me)' for 2011 CMT Music Awards
Luke Bryan was on hand at the 2011 CMT Music Awards to perform his new hit "Country Girl (Shake It For Me)" off his new album "Tailgates & Tanlines," which is due out Aug. 9, 2011. It will be Luke's third studio album since bursting onto the country scene in 2007.
"Country Girl" is his eleventh single in his career and we thought he pretty much rocked it at the CMT Music Awards. The back up dancers weren't too shabby either. YOu can see Luke Bryan again on CMT's "Crossroads" show June 24 with the Doobie Brothers. The two acts will perform hits including "Black Water," "Long Train Running," "Country Girl" and "Do I."
Luke is also the headliner of the 10th annual CMT Tour with special guests Lee Brice and Josh Thompson. The tour kicks off in September with 25 shows around the country.
Bryan, sporting a backwards baseball cap and tight black T-shirt, invited some sexy leather-sporting ladies to shake it with him to a choreographed dance behind him against flashing bright lights. When the camera panned to the celeb-filled audience, we were able to see that Lady Antebellum‘s Charles Kelley was out of his seat and shaking it for Bryan.
The ‘Rain Is a Good Thing’ hitmaker’s performance got country fans everywhere pumped for the rest of the show, and when he finally left the stage, the lights were on and everyone in the room was out of their seat.
