Your Country's Right Here: Luke Bryan Struts his 'Tailgates & Tanlines'
posted in: Country • Features
Luke Bryan has spent the summer on the road including a slot on Tim McGraw’s high-profile Emotional Traffic Tour, releasing his new CD Tailgates & Tanlines, plus making a host of appearances on television shows such as LIVE! With Regis and Kelly and Today, but he’s far from done.
This fall, Bryan will headline dates on CMT on Tour: Luke Bryan Tailgates & Tanlines that kicks off September 14th. He’ll also headline the six-date Farm Tour 2011 starting September 29th in Clemson, SC”which he uses to raise scholarship funds for students of farming families in the communities where each show takes place”before moving into his home state of Georgia.
We have such a blast at these shows, said Bryan looking ahead to this third Farm Tour. We look forward to bringing music into some of these areas where concert tours can’t get to. There’s nothing like building a tour set in the middle of a crop field!
In the crush of excitement about Bryan’s music, it’s easy for some to forget that he has a family of his own. On a recent drive near his Nashville area home,Bryan fielded questions about his music while also consoling his sometimes-fussy young son.
“You get so busy with touring, time really flies,” said Bryan of juggling his personal and professional lives. “It gets hectic but we are really having a fun time with everything. It’s especially fun to have the family out and let them see everything you’re doing.”
Bryan said that his wife Caroline takes it in stride when frenzied fans greet him, but laughed when asked how his young sons react to their father’s fame.
“I think [Thomas “Bo” Boyer], my oldest, is beginning to understand what is going on,” he said of his son, who is two and a half before talking about his sixteen-month old Tatum “Tate” Christopher. “Tate is still quite young but we just do things to keep it real, just like any normal family.”
Bryan has also enjoyed other perks of his fame including recording a recent CMT Crossroads show with the Doobie Brothers.
“I grew up with their music so it was kind of ingrained in me, so it was great to pair what I do with the [Doobie Brothers’] music,” he said of the collaboration. “They are really great songwriters out there touring and making albums and making music and always encourage younger artists.”
For more information about Bryan, his music and his upcoming tours, check his Web site.