Radiohead’s Thom Yorke

Radiohead’s Thom Yorke: ‘Who The F*** Is Bruno Mars?’

In a wide-ranging interview regarding his new band Atoms for Peace, Radiohead frontmanThom Yorke spoke out candidly on subjects including dance music, Amazon and a certain emerging pop superstar.

“Who the f**k is Bruno Mars?” Yorke said early in the Rolling Stone Q&A, going on to add, “Sorry. I’ll get slandered now,” when discussing how Atoms for Peace’s debut album, Amok, entered the Billboard 200 chart at Number Two behind Mars’ Unorthodox Jukebox when they were released during the same week.

“Bruno Mars had a special on Amazon. That’s why,” offered Yorke’s Atoms for Peace bandmate Nigel Godrich, referring to Unorthodox Jukebox being sold for only $1.99 during the first week of release.

“Amazon f**ks with us every time,” Yorke added. “They undercut us. So really, it was Number One.”

Yorke and Godrich discuss performing live, recording in Los Angeles and hitting the L.A. club scene, with Yorke raving about the electronic music party Low End Theory, calling it “f**king mental. And such a good camaraderie with the people at the club, because they all know each other. It was really different, not what I was used to. It wasn’t super-clubby – it was just f**king loud and f**king fun, you know?”

Luke Bryan Concert Tickets Dirt Road Diaries Tour

Luke Bryan Concert Tickets "Dirt Road Diaries Tour" Available Now at Doremitickets.com

This year marks the release of Luke Bryan's first compilation album entitled "Spring Break...Here To Party" as well as the Luke Bryan Tour 2013, also known as the "Dirt Road Diaries Tour". This live country music extravaganza started on January 17th, 2013 in Evansville, Indiana and it will continue on May 17th with the venue Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach, VA, which will also feature live performances from Florida Georgia Line and Thompson Square.

The Luke Bryan concert schedule proceeds on May 18th with the venue Jiffy Lube Live at Washington, DC, which will also feature live performances from other country singers such as Tim McGraw and Brad Paisley. On May 26th, Luke Bryan will perform live in the Bayou Country Superfest at LSU Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA, then on May 30th at CMAC in Cadandaigua, NY and on May 31st at Comcast Theatre in Hartford, CT.

The rest of the Luke Bryan tour dates 2013 are deployed over the months of June, July, August, September and October. The "Dirt Road Diaries Tour" will end on October 26th, 2013 when Luke Bryan will perform live at the Cruzan Amphitheatre for the country music fans in West Palm Beach, Florida. Luke Bryan concert tickets 2013 will be available to the general public starting Friday, April 26th, at 10 a.m. MDT/EDT.

Complete Luke Bryan Dates for "Dirt Road Diaries Tour":
May 17, 2013    Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach (Formerly Virginia Beach Amphitheatre), Virginia Beach, VA
May 18, 2013    Jiffy Lube Live (Formerly Nissan Pavilion), Bristow, VA
May 30, 2013    Constellation Brands Performing Arts Center, Canandaigua, NY
May 31, 2013    Comcast Theatre (formerly Meadows Music Theater), Hartford, CT
June 1, 2013    Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden, NJ
June 2, 2013    Comcast Center - MA (formerly Tweeter Center), Mansfield, MA
June 6, 2013    Mulberry Mountain, Ozark, AR
June 13, 2013    Peoria Civic Center - Arena, Peoria, IL
June 14, 2013    Verizon Wireless Amphitheater - MO, Maryland Heights, MO
June 15, 2013    First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre (formerly Tweeter Center-il), Tinley Park, IL
July 11, 2013    Oak Mountain Amphitheatre - AL, Birmingham, AL
July 12, 2013    Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Charlotte - NC, Charlotte, NC
July 13, 2013    Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek (formerly Walnut Creek Amphitheatre), Raleigh, NC
July 14, 2013    Aarons Amphitheatre At Lakewood (formerly Lakewood Amphitheatre), Atlanta, GA
July 18, 2013    Delaware State Fairgrounds, Harrington, DE
July 20, 2013    Michigan International Speedway, Brooklyn, MI
July 21, 2013    Klipsch Music Center (Formerly Verizon Wireless Music Center - IN), Noblesville, IN
July 24, 2013    Cheyenne Frontier Days, Cheyenne, WY
July 26, 2013    Isleta Amphitheater (formerly Hard Rock Pavilion), Albuquerque, NM
July 27, 2013    Desert Sky Pavilion (formerly Ashley Furniture Homestore Pavilion), Phoenix, AZ
August 2, 2013    Oregon Jamboree, Sweet Home, OR
August 8, 2013    Sleep Train Amphitheatre, Wheatland, CA
August 9, 2013    Shoreline Amphitheatre - CA, Mountain View, CA
August 10, 2013    Verizon Wireless Amphitheater - CA, Irvine, CA
August 11, 2013    Sleep Train Amphitheatre - Chula Vista (formerly Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre), Chula Vista, CA
August 23, 2013    Bethel Woods Center For The Arts, Bethel, NY
August 24, 2013    PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ
August 25, 2013    Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY
August 30, 2013    Allentown Fairgrounds, Allentown, PA
September 12, 2013    INTRUST Bank Arena, Wichita, KS
September 14, 2013    Bank Of Oklahoma Center, Tulsa, OK
September 20, 2013    Usana Amphitheatre, Salt Lake City, UT
September 21, 2013    Fiddlers Green Amphitheatre (formerly Comfort Dental Amphitheatre), Englewood, CO
September 26, 2013    Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati, OH
September 27, 2013    Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, OH
September 28, 2013    First Niagara Pavilion (Formerly Post Gazette Pavilion At Star Lake), Burgettstown, PA
October 17, 2013    Verizon Arena (formerly Alltel Arena), North Little Rock, AR
October 18, 2013    Bridgestone Arena (Formerly Sommet Center), Nashville, TN
October 19, 2013    Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY
October 25, 2013    Live Nation Amphitheatre At The Florida State Fairgrounds (formerly 1-800-Ask-Gary Amphitheatre), Tampa, FL
October 26, 2013    Cruzan Amphitheatre (formerly Sound Advice Amphitheatre), West Palm Beach, FL

For truly dedicated fans of the country singer who cannot wait to get their tickets in order to make sure they can see their idol live, Fan-Club pre-sale Luke Bryan tickets are also available from April 23rd at 10 a.m. MDT/EDT until April 25th at 5 p.m. MDT/EDT. These pre-sale tickets are available only for the shows in Salt Lake City, UT ( on September 20th), Bethel, NY (on August 23rd), Charlotte, NC (on July 12th) and Raleigh, NC ( on July 13th). For the Lakewood show in Atlanta, Georgia, tickets went on sale to the public on April 20th.

The approximately fifty upcoming Luke Bryan concert dates are fully detailed on the official Luke Bryan website. VIP ticket packages are also available for all Luke Bryan fans who want to get up close and personal with the country artist and even raise a glass with him while singing "Just a Sip". The "Dirt Road Diaries Tour" promises to be the most magnificent live country music experience and one of the most memorable, entertaining and inspiring Luke Bryan concerts 2013.

Luke Bryan's fourth studio album will be released mid-2013, while he is on tour across the United States, showing all his fans on-stage performances of "Doing My Thing" and his other famous songs. Following the live premiere of the first single of his current album, entitled "Crash My Party", at the 2013 ACM Awards, where Luke Bryan also won the "Entertainer of the Year" and "Vocal Event of the Year " awards, this new single was released on April 7th, 2013.

All country fans should get ready this 2013 spring break and onwards to crash Luke Bryan's party and fully enjoy the most authentic live country music extravaganza, courtesy only of the "Dirt Road Diaries" Luke Bryan Tour 2013 - Here to Party.

Doremitickets.com Your #1 Source for Luke Bryan Tickets Tour 2013 Dates, Money-Back Guarantee. Doremitickets.com is a retail website founded in 2009. Since launching in 2009, our website has helped connect thousands of live entertainment fans to the vast network of ticket brokers that list tickets on the doremitickets® Online Exchange. These professional ticket brokers offer more than 7.5 million event tickets on our exchange every day.

Country star Luke Bryan holds concert for local soldier

Team Andrew: Country star Luke Bryan holds concert for local soldier

 A local non-profit group is much closer to its goal to build a wounded soldier a new home, thanks to country music star Luke Bryan.

Bryan, who was recently named entertainer of the year, played for a packed house Monday night.

He won't see a dime.

Instead, all the money raised will help fund the building of Specialist Andrew Smith's new home.

Hours before he took stage, Luke Bryan fans lined up to support local soldier Specialist Andrew Smith.

"It's a great cause," friends Lisa Geise and Karen Owens say. "A great cause, I even bought two extra tickets as a donation just for that."

Local non-profit Steps2Hope plans to build Andrew and his wife Tori a fully accessible home.

A home they got a first look at Monday, in the form of a cake.

Footing the bill for a portion of that home: country music start Luke Bryan.

Bryan played for a packed house at Track 29, at no cost.

The ticket sales, which topped $52,000, will go to building Andrew and Tori's new home.

"Every time it's humbling but this is incredibly humbling," Andrew says. "We just learned Luke Bryan isn't getting a penny for this. Words just don't say enough."

"It's so cool to see so many people respecting Andrew's sacrifice," Tori says. "As a wife and as an American, it's moving. It's beyond words."

It's a gig Bryan says he couldn't turn down when he heard Andrew's story.

He talked to Channel 3 backstage about what the show means to him.

"To be a part of this night and to help him heal and to help everybody that's in his world heal, it's the least we could do for what guys like Andrew and his wife Tori have dealt with," Luke Bryan tells Channel 3.

It's a huge leap toward Steps2Hope's goal, but there is more work to be done.

"People have given so generously over the last few months in funds, now it's time to join up as helpers," Mark Wilson with Steps2Hope says. "We'll need thousands of people to build a house in a week."

Steps2Hope and Bryan are hoping Monday night will inspire others to step up, to see to it a local hero gets the homecoming he deserves.

"You can only take so much," Bryan says. "You have to give back."

In addition to ticket sales, our partners at US101, who orchestrated the event, auctioned off items signed by Bryan, bringing in an additional $4,000.

Taylor Swift shut out at Luke Bryan

Taylor Swift shut out at ACMs; Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert big winners

Taylor Swift had some trouble on Sunday at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Despite being nominated for four awards, she came away empty-handed. Luke Bryan was instead the night's big story when he pulled off an amazing upset and won entertainer of the year.
Bryan overshadowed top winner Miranda Lambert's big night by beating out some of country music's top performers, including Lambert and her husband Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean and two-time entertainer of the year Swift in an upset that few would have predicted because of his relatively recent move into the spotlight.
The 36-year-old Georgia native recently began headlining his first arena tour and was the co-host of this year's show.
"I don't know what to say guys," Bryan said as members the audience shouted "Luke." "Thank you so much fans for doing this to me. Thank you so much for making my life what it is. What I always wanted to be was just a country singer who got to ride on a tour bus and show up on a new stage and play music every night."
After an emotional  speech, Bryan's co-host Blake Shelton held his partner up and joked that he won in his "first and last year as co-host" of the awards.
Bryan is the first male winner of the award since 2007 when Kenny Chesney won the first fan-voted award. Swift and Carrie Underwood have won two apiece since then.
Bryan's win will be the talk of Las Vegas Sunday night but Lambert again walks away as the academy's trophy magnet.
She won her fourth straight female vocalist award and picked up three trophies for her hit song "Over You" -- one for single record of the year and two for song of the year. She was performer of the song and co-wrote the song with Shelton.
"Over You," written about Shelton's late brother, won song of the year at the Country Music Association Awards last November as well.
"As a songwriter, having your song and your lyrics recognized by your peers is pretty much as good as it gets," Lambert said. "And I'm so thankful for being in this genre of country music, every single time someone's nominated, I just cheer, because I love everybody to death. So thank you for accepting me as a song writer, not just as a singer, because that means the world to me."
Eric Church won two awards, including album of the year, and was tied with Jason Aldean, Little Big Town and Florida Georgia Line in overall win total.
Church, this year's top nominee, also won vocal event of the year for his collaboration with Aldean and Luke Bryan for their collaboration on "The Only Way I Know" and performed his somber but powerful song "Like Jesus Does" with only an acoustic guitar and a backup singer.
"I think my career is going to be pre-'Chief' and post-'Chief,"' Church said. "Album of the year is most special to me."
Aldean, country's top-selling male act, won male vocalist of the year. Little Big Town had wins for vocal group and video of the year. Florida Georgia Line won for new artist and were previous winners in the new vocal duo/group category. And husband and wife Shawna and Keifer Thompson continued their feel-good story as Thompson Square won its second straight vocal duo of the year award.
Shawna Thompson gave a shoutout to her mother from stage.
Tears came to her eyes backstage as she explained that her father had recently passed away and she wanted to acknowledge her mother during her acceptance speech to support her.
"She's just having a really hard time," she said.
The night was full of colorful performances, but the anticipation of Garth Brooks and George Strait performing together overshadowed almost everything else. The two paid tribute to the late Dick Clark, the executive producer of the show since 1979 who passed away a year ago.
Brooks appeared on stage in flannel shirt and black cowboy hat with a Fu Manchu to perform his hit "The Dance" before Strait joined him for "The Cowboy Rides Away."
Reba McEntire introduced the two and paid tribute to Clark, momentarily breaking down as tears appeared in her eyes.
"He would slap me if he saw me crying up here," she said.
Shelton kicked the show off with his new single "Boys `Round Here," a hip-hop-flavored ode to redneck swag. He was joined by Luke Bryan, Brad Paisley, Sheryl Crow and Pistol Annies, a trio that includes his wife Miranda Lambert.
Strait made his first appearance of the night earlier, singing "Give It All We Got Tonight." Lady Antebellum debuted new song "Downtown" and Charles Kelley finished off the song by rubbing pregnant trio-mate Hillary Scott's belly. Carrie Underwood stepped out of a black Cadillac parked on stage as she started her song, "Two Black Cadillacs."
Lambert appeared later with a fiery, diamond-studded rendition of her recent hit "Mama's Broken Heart."
John Mayer joined Paisley for a guitar summit on "Beat This Summer" and Taylor Swift and Keith Urban joined Tim McGraw on stage for "Highway Don't Care," which Urban finished off with a scorching guitar solo.
Stevie Wonder made his first appearance on a country music awards show, joining Hunter Hayes for a performance by two guys who got their start as precocious teens. Hayes kicked off their set with his song "I Want Crazy," then was joined by Wonder for his hit "Sir Duke."

'Alabama & Friends' Tribute to Feature Luke Bryan

'Alabama & Friends' Tribute to Feature Luke Bryan, Toby Keith & More

The legendary country group will duet with modern stars on the upcoming set, with Tim McGraw, Trisha Yearwood and others contributing.

Luke Bryan, Toby Keith, Jason Aldean and Kenny Chesney are among the artists paying tribute to Alabama on the legendary country group’s “Alabama & Friends.”
The album, which will feature members of Alabama duetting with the acts on some of the tracks—similar to Lionel Richie’s tremendously successful “Tuskegee” set— will come out in the third quarter, says Show Dog Universal Music president Mark Wright.
Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Eli Young Band and Trisha Yearwood will also contribute tracks.
Many of the artists have already completed their recordings or are in the process of doing so. “The other day, Jason Aldean and [Alabama lead singer] Randy Owen were swapping verses,” Bright told Billboard.biz at Show Dog Universal’s third annual brunch at the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas.
“Alabama isn’t on every track. They’ll come and do some harmonies just to put the flavor on there, but it’s kind of hard when you have Rascal Flatts and Eli Young [Band], people who have their own band. It’s hard to put a band with a band,” Wright says.
The album will also include two new Alabama tracks, the first new songs from the now-trio since the group embarked on a farewell tour more than a decade ago. Since then, the band’s appearances have been sporadic. In 2011, Alabama reunited to play with Brad Paisley on his song “Old Alabama,” which featured the band, at the ACM Awards (and also appeared on the video). Last year, they played the multi-artist festival Stagecoach.
Just last week, the band reunited for a full tour, its first since 2004. The group’s 40th anniversary outing, dubbed the Back to the Bowery tour, kicked off April 4 with a free show at the Bowery in Myrtle Beach,S.C., the venue where Owen, his cousin Teddy Gentry, and Jeff Cook got their start in 1973. With more dates to be added, the tour presently goes through Nov. 8.
When asked if fans can expect a full album of new Alabama material, Wright said, “Not yet.”

 

Luke Bryan's moving up the charts

Luke Bryan's moving up the charts

Sometimes it's difficult to determine exactly when you have arrived. Moving along life's highway, there aren't any big road signs that say for certain that you've reached a particular destination.

#But if there were, we'd venture a guess that Luke Bryan has hit the city limits of Big Time.

#The Lee County country music artist has built a solid career, one that has seen his music gain in popularity. After winning the Country Music Association's best new artist award, Bryan has built on that with solid work that has endeared him to his fans.

#On Wednesday, Bryan, filling in for Lady Antebellum, announced some of the top nominations with his friend Jason Aldean on "Good Morning America." Bryan found out he's up for two major prizes in this November's CMA Awards -- male vocalist of the year and album of the year.

#It's safe to say that with those two nominations, Bryan has arrived.

#The fact is, Bryan's already been in the top-star tier for a while now, but these nominations cinch it. It's not so much winning -- he has stiff competition in both categories -- as it is the company he's keeping.

#In the competition for male vocalist, Bryan's facing Eric Church, Aldean, Blake Shelton and Keith Urban. For album of the year, his "Tailgates & Tanlines" is up against Church's "Chief," Miranda Lambert's "Four the Record," Dierks Bentley's "Home" and Lady A's "Own the Night." Perennial nominee and multiple winner Brad Paisley didn't make the cut this year, which makes it even more remarkable.

#"Those are just really, really important categories and stuff that really anytime I get nominated and I look at the company that I'm in it's pretty amazing," Bryan said.

#Indeed. Bryan's hanging out with some heady company and he's showing he belongs.

#And while we're not given to making predictions, particularly when it comes to the entertainment business, we will venture this observation from the crystal ball: It won't be long before some new music star finds himself mentioned in the company of Luke Bryan and suddenly realizes that he, too, has arrived.

Luke Bryan, country music product

Luke Bryan is fine with this. "You want women to think of you in a sexy manner," says Bryan, phoning in from the road. "It's all part of the business. It drives ticket sales. It's all a part of it. My focus is trying to make great music and putting on great shows, and whatever happens beyond that is a bonus to me."
Country music may not have seen such a "himbo" since the early days of Tim McGraw, though McGraw never had it this rough: The anonymity of the Internet, the post-"Magic Mike" permanent bachelorette party culture and the willingness of women to objectify someone else for once are all converging, making things kind of crazy out there.
"Women are getting more and more comfortable where they can have a little fun too. I'm happy about that," Bryan says. Wife Caroline "laughs about it. She enjoys it too. She understands that it's all a part of the game."
Bryan, 36, is well-spoken and affable and always on message. What he really thinks about his journey from respected songwriter (before becoming famous, he co-wrote songs for Travis Tritt and Billy Currington) to musical beefcake, what he really thinks about anything, is impossible to say. There's an interesting person in there somewhere, behind an impenetrable wall of politeness, but unlike rock stars or rappers, for whom controversy is currency, country singers tend to take their media training very seriously. They're terrified to offend. They need you to know how grateful they are for what's happening to them, how humble. How they prayed on it. They tend to give stock answers like:
A) Yes, ma'am
B) It's the culmination of a lot of prayers
C) My focus is trying to make great music and putting on great shows, and whatever happens beyond that is a bonus to me.
Bryan's father owns a fertilizer company, and the younger Bryan worked for him before making it big. Ask him what he learned about spreading fertilizer that might have helped him in the entertainment industry — the journalistic equivalent of setting up an easy layup — and Bryan doesn't budge. "From my dad I learned to be good to people, to always be honest and straightforward. I learned hard work and perseverance."
Bryan didn't truly break out until his third full-length album, last year's "Tailgates & Tanlines." It recently went platinum, thanks in large part to the crossover hit "Country Girl (Shake It for Me)," one of those songs that doesn't just blur the lines between pop, rock and country, it obliterates them with dynamite.
"I think 'Country Girl' is one song that can veer into country or hip-hop or rap. You can listen to it and enjoy the humor and the fun in it," says Bryan, who claims not to have worried about the song's uncountrylike grooviness or its PG-rated not-quite sexism. "I knew it was gonna be a song (where) some women or older ladies probably didn't like me saying that. But I also knew it was going to be something fun and very light and about a good time. I've had a few older ladies out at shows who really don't appreciate it, and I get it. But there's nothing negative about it at all.

Bryan is touring as the opening act for Jason Aldean, his friend and probably the only recently arrived hat act more popular than he. They toured together two years ago, playing venues that have gotten bigger in a hurry.
"When I had a birthday party a few weeks ago, Jason and (his wife) Jessica came," Bryan says. "We try to get together during the off-season. Jason and I hunt a lot together."
Aldean is likely one of the few people who can relate to the difficulties of life at Bryan's level, not that Bryan would ever publicly admit to any difficulties.
"People don't want to hear you bellyaching about this and that, about (your) taxes and stuff like that, and I get it," he says. "My main thing is, I truly love what I do. I think you have to love this to be able to live up to what it requires. Every day I wake up and I lay in bed counting my blessings and saying my prayers for how fortunate I am to have great fans and health and family. ... It didn't come easy for me, and therefore I appreciate it a thousand times more. Looking back, I wouldn't have wanted it to go any other way."

 

Family travels 900 miles to visit Luke Bryan's hometown

Family travels 900 miles to visit Luke Bryan's hometown

While a lot of 11 year old girls would chose the beach or Disney world for summer vacation, one little girl from Illinois chose Leesburg, Georgia.
The reason? She's a HUGE Luke Bryan fan and begged her parents to take her to Luke's hometown.
So they packed up the car and drove 900 miles and she got quite a surprise when she got her.
WALB News 10's Stephanie Springer met her today and tells us how it went.
Holley Horrell says she's Luke Bryan's biggest fan. Today she visited some of the spots he sings about in his songs like the Flint River and the Muckalee Creek. She even got to meet Luke's parents.
11-year old Holly Horrell says she's Luke Bryan's biggest fan. "I watch LBTV every week, I watch the videos over and over again and I have tons of pictures," she said.
She can tell you just about anything you'd want to know about him. "He has two Broncos, a black and a yellow one and a black truck," she said.
She's already met him so this year she wanted to visit his hometown. "I've always dreamed of coming here and seeing where he grew up," she said.
Thursday, her dream came true. She and her family packed up the car and drove 900 miles from Illinois. "Last year we went to Minnesota, the year before we went to Disney and this tops Disney," she said.
She and her family got an unexpected surprise when officials at city hall contacted Luke's parents. "I've never had anyone do like Holly's done she has hit the top of the chart," said Luke's mom LaClair.
His Dad took the family on a tour of Leesburg. First stop on the list? The Muckalee creek and Flint River. "I went and put my feet in the water because he sings about it," she said.
And Luke's mom, LaClair, met the family for lunch
It was a long trip but a worthwhile one. Her dad says they plan to leave tomorrow but says she would move to Leesburg if she could.
The family also stopped in Nashville just in case they
The city of Leesburg was more than happy to accommodate the family. Having a hometown country superstar is, after all, a great marketing tool.

 

BayFest 2012 adds dash of country with Luke Bryan

BayFest 2012 adds dash of country with Luke Bryan, Chris Cagle, Jerrod Niemann

Bryan will top the day’s lineup on the AT&T/Southern Ford Dealers Stage. The Georgia native’s stardom is relatively fresh: He scored his first No. 1 country hit in 2010, with “Someone Else Calling You Baby,” and his most recent with “Drunk on You” which is currently still at No. 5. “Drunk on You” also has been as high as No. 17 on Billboard’s overall pop singles chart, Bryan’s best crossover showing so far.
His biggest hits also include “I Don’t Want This Night to End,” “Rain is a Good Thing” and “Do I.”
Two other newly announced country acts also will perform on Oct. 7: Chris Cagle, whose top singles include “I Breathe In, I Breathe Out” and “Chicks Dig It,” and Jerrod Neimann, who topped the country chart in 2010 with “Lover, Lover.”
The Sunday lineup on the AT&T/Southern Ford Dealers Stage will start with Mobile-area songwriter and vocalist Elley Duhe. Duhe, 20, was born in Mobile and grew up in Vancleave, Mississippi, and has performed regularly along the Gulf Coast since her mid-teens. In February, she appeared on national TV in an audition round of the NBC show “The Voice.”
BayFest takes place Oct. 5-7 in downtown Mobile. Other acts announced so far include headliners Journey, Al Green, Bush and Pretty Lights, plus Pat Benatar, Loverboy, Buckcherry, My Darkest Days, The Campaign 1984, Mimosa and Rose Royce.
Weekend passes are $45 and are on sale with no service charge at www.bayfest.com. A group rate is available for groups of 20 or more people. Children 12 and under are admitted free with an adult ticketholder. For updates and other festival information, visit www.bayfest.com or www.facebook.com/BayFestMusicFestival.

 

Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan

Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan, contrasting styles at Merriweather Post

If Luke Bryan is the guy at the party running around persuading everyone to take another shot, then Jason Aldean is the quiet, brooding cowboy in the corner ready to jump onstage and wow everyone with an unexpected rap. Both country singers delivered deafeningly entertaining shows to thousands at a sold-out concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion on Sunday. But the question remained: What would have happened if they combined their strengths?
We may never know. Bryan kicked off the night, basking in the glow of his two ultra-cheesy recent hit singles, the hip-shaking “Country Girl (Shake It for Me)” and the earnest “Drunk on You,” in which he croons “Girl, you make my speakers go ‘boom boom.’  ”
Bryan, who turns 36 on Tuesday, has embraced this goofy persona — he shed his guitar almost instantly during the first song, preferring a microphone so he could groove around the stage. There were hip swivels, pelvic thrusts, air kicks, muscle flexes. Soaked with sweat dripping off him, Bryan shook it no matter what the theme of the song — loving, cheating, happy to be alive and drinking — such as “Rain Is a Good Thing,” “Someone Else Calling You Baby” and “All My Friends Say.”
Sitting down at a piano, Bryan teased the first few lines of Justin Bieber’s song “Boyfriend” — but proved that even he had his limits. “No Bieber tonight,” he told the crowd.
But what Bryan lacked in deep concert “moments” with his dance party, Aldean, 35, easily made up for with intensity onstage. He started off with electric guitar-heavy, explosive “Johnny Cash,” only to immediately segue into four slowed-down songs. From “Big Green Tractor” to super-depressing break-up song “The Truth,” Aldean still managed to keep the energy level buzzing. Cowboy hat slung low over his eyes, he mainly stayed anchored to the mike.
For a show that seemed methodical, he never lost the audience, many of whom had been drenched in a rainstorm before the show. Aldean ran through his most high-energy tunes, including the rocking “Crazy Town” and “My Kinda Party,” and small-town-loving “Flyover States” and “Tattoos on This Town.” He cracked more than a few smiles when the audience roared along with his smash country rap “Dirt Road Anthem.”
As for the potential Bryan-Aldean super group, disappointingly, the singers didn’t make a joint appearance. The only duet came when former “American Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson appeared via giant video screen to accompany Aldean on their 2010 single, “Don’t You Wanna Stay.”

Luke Bryan Performs, Talks National Anthem Controversy

Luke Bryan Performs, Talks National Anthem Controversy on ‘Good Morning America’

Country music reigned supreme and staged a full-scale takeover of NYC on the morning of Friday, July 13. While Zac Brown Band performed on the ‘TODAY‘ show in midtown Manhattan, Luke Bryan commandeered the stage in Central Park for the ‘Good Morning America’ summer concert series. He performed a set consisting of ‘Country Girl (Shake It for Me),’ ‘Drunk on You’ and ‘Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye.’ The gregarious singer did not shy away from talking about the National Anthem controversy at the MLB All-Star Game earlier in the week, either. He wrote words on his hands to ensure that he wouldn’t flub his performance like so many musicians before him have. He was subsequently beaten up a bit for doing so.
First things first. ‘GMA’ host Robin Roberts sat down to chat with Bryan onstage and an appearance on a major breakfast TV program could not have been better timed, since Bryan’s anthem gaffe was a hot topic all week. Rather than shrug it off, he was forthright, saying, “That stage, being in that moment, was one of the biggest moments of my life. I’ve done the Anthem many times and I’ve done it at little league baseball parks. Going out there for that moment, it meant so much to me… to have a few notes, to get it right.” He pointed out how people stress out from the pressure of singing the song, saying, “You see it done wrong, and… you almost don’t want to do it.”
It’s clear that Bryan was trying to be overly respectful by writing words on his hand to prevent a mess up.
Bryan also claimed that since he can’t serve in the military, he can show his love for his country by singing the song. He apologized if anyone was offended by the fact that he wrote notes on his hand, which was met with a chorus of cheers from the crowd. That’s when Roberts called him a “true Southern gentleman.” If we didn’t know any better, we might think she was smitten with the always smiling Bryan!
Then again, how could she not be? His cheery disposition is infectious. He even said, “This whole ride for me, every day, I wake up with a big smile. Every day I feel so blessed. That is what is so rewarding about this business, to get up every day and enjoy it and to smile, play music and have the time of your life.”
There’s no mistaking Bryan’s sincerity about the Anthem. All is forgiven.
When performing ‘Country Girl,’ he was flirting with the crowd in his adorable Luke Bryan way.

Luke Bryan will help kick off Greeley Stampede

Luke Bryan will help kick off Greeley Stampede celebrations this weekend

By the time country star Luke Bryan is on stage and performing for more than 8,500 clamoring fans on Saturday, he will have just scratched the surface of a long tour away from home. But on the road, Bryan said he's carrying a piece of home with him.

It's a single peanut, on the back of his guitar pick.

“I just thought it would be cool to put it on,” Bryan said in his Georgian twang over the phone last week.

With several platinum country hits under his belt, Bryan, the son of a peanut farmer, can plan on being away from his small-town roots for a while. After his sold-out concert this weekend for the Greeley Stampede, he's scheduled for a whopping 39 more shows through October.

It makes for a full summer, but Bryan said he manages.

“My main thing is just to try to get a good night's sleep, work out, stay healthy. And at the end of the day, just enjoy being on stage,” Bryan said.

Being on the road actually helps with song writing, he said. In his latest album, Tailgates and Tanlines, Bryan co-wrote eight of 13 songs.

“Being out with fans is very inspiring for me,” Bryan said. “So I take all that inspiration and energy and maybe write a song from it.”

Bryan may always be a country boy at heart, but he said he tries to relate to everyone who comes to his concerts, even if it's just by incorporating the name of the state or city in his performance.

“I try to relate to everybody a little bit, make sure my show makes everybody smile,” he said. “I don't take anything too seriously. I just get up there and have a good ol' time.”

A good ol' time is what Bryan is all about — four of his five albums have a spring break theme. Bryan has a wife and two young boys, Bo and Tate, but he said spring breaks seem to immediately bring people back to a time in their life when they were just having fun.

“At the end of day, too, I am a family man,” Bryan said. “But I'm out there having a good time ... As long as it keeps me young at heart, and that is what half of the battle is.”

Aside from his decorated guitar pick, Bryan said he hasn't brought much else with him from the fields of Leesburg, Ga., although there's probably still some peanut dust in his ears, somewhere.

That and the memory of country girls getting down to inspire one of his major singles, “Country Girl (Shake It For Me).”