Country Thunder review: Luke Bryan brings record-breaking weekend to a rousing finish
Ed Masley
Luke Bryan drew a huge crowd as the final headliner of a record-breaking year at Country Thunder.
Bryan strolled on stage in a ball cap, black T-shirt and blue jeans, setting the tone for his hit-filled performance with an ode to country living: his hit “Hunting’, Fishin’, and Lovin’ Every Day.”
By the second song, the hat had been turned backward, and Bryan was working the runway, tossing his mic in the air and briefly forgetting the lyrics to “I Don’t Want This Night to End,” a source of great amusement to the singer.
“I did not have one damn drink before the show,” Bryan said, with a laugh. “That’s why I forgot the lyrics.”
Someone on with his crew then walked on stage with a shot-sized red solo cup, and the party was on.
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Throughout the course of the next song ("All My Friends Say") Bryan's crew members tossed him beer can after beer can, and he, in turn, threw them into the audience.
After making his way through “Light It Up,” an emotional “Someone Else Calling You Baby” and “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye,” he took a moment to address the atmosphere.
“Good Lord, it’s dusty as hell,” he said, with a laugh. “What the hell?”
Then he complimented the locals for being able to deal with it.
“Y’all gotta be tough as hell to live out here,” he said. “My skin is dry. My legs are ashy. I’ve been rubbing cocoa butter on my skin.”
Then Bryan told the crowd, “Because of you guys, this was a three-week Number 1." That was the way he introduced his recent hit, “Most People Are Good,” a plea for tolerance in these divisive times.
That was followed by his latest album’s title track, introduced as a “song about being country, about being proud of what makes you country.” The song, by the way, is aptly titled, "What Makes You Country."
Bryan went on to sing a soulful "Strip It Down," though he struggled a bit on the notes toward the end. He blamed the dry desert air, stating he wanted to give that part another try.
“Damn dust,” he said. "And I’m the one judging voices. How ‘bout that? Thank y’all for cutting me some slack.”
After following “Strip It Down” with a spirited “Drunk On You,” he asked, “Y’all mind if I play a few songs with me and my guitar?”
It was a loose, refreshing change of pace, with Bryan treating the crowd to stripped-down versions of “I Do,” “Home Alone Tonight” and “Fast.”
The star was rejoined by his band for “Crash My Party,” which ended in an a cappella singalong.
“I found my party crashers right here,” Bryan said, before shifting gears with a heartbreaking tribute to those no longer with us, "Drink a Beer,” and asking the audience members to hold their cellphone lights in the air to complement the mood.
Bryan ended the set with a few more heavy hitters, “Play It Again” (which turned into another chance for fans to take the vocal spotlight), “Rain is a Good Thing” and a very funky “Move.”
When the singer returned for the encore, shouting, “Where’s my country girls?,” no one had to wonder what was coming next. He hadn't played "Country Girl (Shake It For Me)" yet. And holding it back for the encore proved to be the perfect strategy.
And "That's My Kind of Night" was a well-chosen post-script, summing up the evening for Bryan fans who made it such a big night for the festival.
Luke Bryan setlist
- Huntin’, Fishin’, and Lovin’ Every Day
- I Don’t Want This Night To End
- All My Friends Say
- Light It Up
- Someone Else Calling You Baby
- Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
- Most People Are Good
- What Makes You Country
- Kick the Dust Up
- Strip it Down
- Drunk on You
- Do I
- Home Alone Tonight
- Fast
- Crash the Party
- Drink a Beer
- Play it Again
- Rain is a Good Thing
- Move
Encore
- Country Girl (Shake it For Me)
- That’s My Kind Of Night
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Brett Young
Brett Young topped the charts at country radio last year with "Like I Loved You" and "In Case You Didn't Know" after making a name for himself in 2016 with the platinum breakthrough single, "Sleep Without You."
He did all three songs, of course, at Country Thunder. But his choice in covers said as much as anything about what makes him stand outon country radio — Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On," a very soulful take on Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and Van Morrison's "Crazy Love."
He's something of a soul man, as well as a hopeless romantic who ended his encore by explaining that his breakthrough single was inspired by the time he came home late one Friday night in high school and found his father watching "SportsCenter" long after he normally would be in bed.
When he asked his dad why he was still awake, he said it was because Young's mother had gone out of town on business and "it's still weird for me to sleep in our bed without your mom."
How sweet is that?
One day, Young says, he thought, "I would like to write a sweet song about the bedroom that isn't disgusting."
Then, with a laugh, he added, "And my next thought was my parents."
Young did a lot of talking in the course of Sunday's set, asking the audience to raise their hands and keep them up if they've ever been broken up with someone. This happened twice and each time, the questions diverged from there.
The first query was about when the person who's breaking your heart says, "I hope we can still be friends."
The second was about checking up on them on social media to see if they're already moving on.
Dressed in camouflage pants and a matching hat, he set the tone for Sunday's set with "Close Enough," making his way through such crowd-pleasing highlights as "Makin' Me Say" (a soulful gem that grooved like a solo Smokey Robinson), "Beautiful Believer" and "Left Side of Leavin'," starting the encore with his latest single, "Mercy."
He also talked about how blessed he feels that country radio has been so good to him, going on to explain that radio wouldn't keep playing his songs unless they're doing well with listeners.
"So when my song comes on the radio and you don't change the station," he said, with a smile, "thank you."
PHOTOS OF COUNTRY THUNDER:
Lindsay Ell
Canadian country singer Lindsay Ell apologized for her voice giving out on occasion.
But whatever she was dealing with, her vocals sounded great on most songs in a set that included the weekend's second cover of the Beatles' "Come Together" and ended with her U.S. breakthrough, "Criminal."
She and her bandmates also did a medley of famous guitar riffs, including "Sweet Child O' Mine," "Enter Sandman," "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Seven Nation Army" and "Are You Gonna Go My Way."
And speaking of guitar, she was among the weekend's most impressive lead guitarists, with a style that suggests a woman who's studied her share of Jimi Hendrix records.
In fact, she recently recorded "Bold As Love," a Hendrix classic, as part of a homework assignment from producer Kristian Bush of Sugarland, who had her cut her own take on John Mayer's "Continuum," her favorite album, as a warm-up exercise for recording "The Project."
Ell's style is inspired as much by funk and blues as country, but it's easy why country radio is warming up to "Criminal."
Other highlights of her set included soulful country-funk of "Castle" and the slinky, sultry "Champagne," whose singalong chorus kicks off with "You make me feel / Like Jessica Biel / Steppin' out of the stretch."
Michael Tyler
Michael Tyler has the perfect blend of talent, charm and looks to make the most of an opening slot at Country Thunder, where the bearded 24-year-old in aviator shades did a masterful job of setting up his songs with anecdotes.
There was the story of how, as a 14-year-old who thought Jason Aldean was the greatest, he decided to reach out to Aldean's producer, Michael Knox, on MySpace. (Yes, really. MySpace.)
They ended up forming a lasting relationship that led to Tyler to signing a publishing deal at 18 and eventually landing a song on the album Aldean is releasing next week.
"Y'all check that out when that album comes out," Tyler said, with a smile. "But my version's better."
He also told an entertaining anecdote about another song he'd written, "Somewhere On a Beach," and how his handlers tried to play it coy when Dierks Bentley reached out to see if he could have it.
Bentley's version of the song, of course, went on to top the country charts and go platinum.
"I think it's the best thing that ever happened to me," Tyler said with a grin.
He introduced his current single, "Hey Mama," with a funny story about his brother calling home in the middle of the night to tell their mom he met the woman he was going to marry.
His mother replied with some friendly advice about sleeping it off.
But years later, they're married. And Tyler has a 6-year-old niece.
He also played his breakthrough hit, a country-soul-flavored song with a "People Get Ready" vibe called "They Can't See."
He profusely thanked Tim Richards, programming director at Phoenix country radio station KMLE.107.9 for taking a chance on the song here in Arizona.
And because he is just getting started, he offset his own songs with crowd-pleasing covers, including Billy Currington's "Good Directions," John Cougar Mellencamp's "Jack and Diane," Maroon 5's "This Love" and Jason Aldean's "Tattoos on This Town."
MORE COUNTRY THUNDER ARIZONA:
DAY 3: Toby Keith treats fans to drinking songs, hits
DAY 2: Jason Aldean moves on from Vegas
DAY 1: Cole Swindell a natural headliner
Arizona couple ties the knot at Country Thunder
See what's in Country Thunder's Lost and Found
Separating Country Thunder posers from true fans
Las Vegas shooting survivors reunite
What it's like as a Country Thunder first-timer