'Country Man' Luke Bryan 'Does His Thing' in Little Rock
Douglas
Boultinghouse
Arts & Entertainment Editor
 |
| Photo by Douglas Boultinghouse |
| Doin' His Thing - Luke Bryan performs songs
from his upcoming album "Doin' My Thing" at the Riverfest Amphitheatre
in Little Rock Sept. 6. |
Capitol Nashville recording artist Luke Bryan took the stage at Bootfest, an event honoring the Fallen Firefighters Memorial, as the special guest Sept. 6 at the Riverfest Amphitheatre in Little Rock.
Bryan performed for over an hour blending songs from his debut album “I’ll Stay Me” with those of his sophomore album “Doin’ My Thing,” due in stores Oct. 6. Throughout the night he mixed in cover songs such as “Pick Up Man,” “Dixieland Delight” and “Fishing in the Dark.”
Though his covers provided entertainment, his original material showed off his ability as a songwriter. He kept the crowd going with energetic performances of his hits “Country Man” and “We Rode in Trucks,” along with fan-favorites “Baby’s on the Way” and “You Make Me Want To.”
But the night gave Bryan a chance to give fans a preview of what to expect on his new album. He even started the show off with the new track “Someone Else Calling You Baby.”
He kept the same rhythm with “Rain is a Good Thing,” the friendly reminder not to hate the rain, because “Rain makes corn and corn makes whiskey.” Bryan finishes the phrase with the line “And whiskey makes my girl frisky.”
During a stripped-down portion of the show, he performed his current single, “Do I,” and thanked the crowd for requesting it on the radio and voting for the video, which sits at the No. 1 spot on the Great American Country countdown.
The audience sang along with Bryan on the ballad co-written by Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood of country-trio Lady Antebellum.
He also delivered acoustic versions of new songs “What Country Is” and “I Did It Again.” The first, he performed for the first time, and the second, could become one of his biggest hits. Time will tell, but if it reaches the success of “Country Man” or “Do I,” he definitely will be singing “I Did It Again.”
Bryan closed his show with his most popular song, “All My Friends Say,” which he combined with a cover of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.” The two sound like an odd pairing, but work together seamlessly.
He left the stage, thanking the crowd, but returned momentarily for an encore cover of Brooks & Dunn’s “Play Something Country.” He ended the night by signing whatever made its way to the front of the stage.
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