LAS VEGAS — During his Vegas production, Luke Bryan walks across The Theatre at Resorts World catwalk.
Check that. He actually grooves across that metal platform. It is my favorite moment in the show. It’s Bryan’s, too, alongside one other segment.
“I love the piano moment,” Bryan says of when he takes some air outta the balloon for “Strip It Down” and “Do I.” “When I get home, off the road, I practice on the piano and work on potential new songs to try to do in that moment. I think, as an artist, I appreciate any time I can be out there with a piano and work to get better. I like that dynamic, too.”
Bryan will deliver more of that dynamic, more catwalk grooving, and his more Vegas revelry into 2023. He’s back for a dozen dates next year, starting Feb. 1 and running through April Fool’s Day. The stretch again covers Super Bowl weekend, about on the year anniversary of when Bryan opened his Las Vegas residency.
Those dates are in addition to his half-dozen shows running in concert with the National Finals Rodeo from Nov. 30-Dec. 10.
Bryan was on the phone during his annual “Farm Tour” of agricultural/festival venues in the Plains states and Midwest. He had just finished rocking 14,000 fans at the Stock Hay and Grain Farm in the Nebraska hamlet of Murdock. This concert led to the observation that Bryan has played all variety of venues in a career spanning a quarter century.
Any revelations about playing Vegas?
“I think mainly it’s your ability to really, really connect with everybody in the room, because of the style and the size of the theater,” the 46-year-old Bryan said. “I don’t want this to sound braggadocios, but for years when you play 20-25,000-seat amphitheaters and football stadiums, you’re out there just delivering a big show, a rock-and-roll show.”
Bryan does that at The Theater. It’s just a less-spacious, cozier scene.
“When I do this Vegas thing, and I can just really connected with the fans, “Bryan said. “It’s pretty special, and that’s what makes that room in Vegas special.”
The Bryan experience has gained a deserved reputation as the rowdiest show at The Theatre. His fans like to get it on, as they say. Bryan, whose “Farm Tour” shows were a more family oriented showcase, can handle any vibe.
“The main thing is, yeah, I wanted it to be a big fun party in Vegas,” Bryan said. “ In Vegas, I can have a little more fun with my language, and maybe not get judged for telling some funny jokes. I like to roast some people and just have fun. That’s another fun aspect too. Whatever I do or say, it’s Vegas. You’re probably not gonna get into too much trouble.
It takes a close-knit community to put on a show as extensive as Bryan’s production, which is highly produced with strobes, pyro, wild lighting and that indispensable catwalk. Bryan was asked how those who work for him would assess the Vegas assignment.
“I think they know that I’m just a guy that likes to have a good time. And, I think they know that I care about them,” Bryan said.”I think they know I don’t take myself too seriously, and they don’t need to take themselves too seriously. At any moment, anybody that works for me, certainly could come up to me and and ask me life advice or anything they ever want.”
The freewheeling environment has created a show that is fun, but also precise.
“I’m not that artists who has a law, you know, for anybody who works for me,” Bryan said. “I want them to feel like this is a team effort. I want them to know that that nothing I do is possible without their their contributions and sacrifices. I just love the aspect of always being a family of people out on the road, working hard to make me a star and an entertainer.”
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