The reigning CMA and ACM Entertainer of the Year sold out back to back shows in Uncasville CT this weekend.
Luke Bryan brought his Kill The Lights tour to the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville CT on February 26th and 27th. Dustin Lynch joined Luke on this stop of the tour.
Luke Bryan at Mohegan Sun on the 2016 Kill The Lights Tour, February 27, 2016.
2015 was an incredible year for Bryan. Kill The Lights, his fifth studio album, debuted at number one and was the best selling country album for the year (and was even the 10th biggest seller on Billboard’s all genre top 200 year end list). He was the most streamed country artist in 2015 (660 million streams) and performed live in front of 1.5 million fans! He received his own exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame, played during halftime during the the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day game, and finished the year with a live performance in Times Square on New Years Eve.
2016 is shaping up to be even bigger for Bryan. Home Alone Tonight, featuring Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild, became Bryan’s 15th number one single. On February 18th he kicked off the Kill The Lights Tour with Little Big Town and Dustin Lynch, which has nearly 70 concerts scheduled through October, including five stadium shows. The day before the tour launched Kill The Lights was certified platinum by the RIAA. And on April 3rd he’ll be co-hosting the ACM Awards for the fourth consecutive year, this time with Dierks Bentley.
Luke Bryan and Michael Carter at Mohegan Sun on the 2016 Kill The Lights Tour, February 27, 2016.
Right from the start Luke proved to everyone Saturday night why he carries the crown as Entertainer of the Year. Luke opened with Rain Is A Good Thing followed by last year’s number one hit Kick The Dust Up, both of which got the crowd all fired up. His 90 minute set included all of the hits you’d expect including Crash My Party, Roller Coaster, and Strip It Down. Throughout the show he constantly worked every inch of the stage, which extended out across the floor of the arena, giving everyone the feeling of being up close and personal. During Drink A Beer Luke sat on a raised bench at the very front of the stage, guitar in hand, as the crowd lit up their cell phone flashlights creating an amazing glow throughout the arena. Dustin Lynch joined Luke on stage for a cover of the Brooks & Dunn hit Play Something Country as the pair handed out cans of Miller Lite to some lucky fans. Luke closed the show with Country Girl and I Don’t Want This Night To End.
“My focus in life when I’m on stage is entertaining these fans. If it’s my smile and my demeanor, if it’s my song that does it, if it’s me picking up a child out of the audience and letting them sing, it’s not being so premeditated that you can see it from a mile away. I mean my main thing is I’m a fan up there that just gets to sing. That’s kind of how I’ve always approached it.” – Luke Bryan
Here are our exclusive pics from Luke and Dustin’s performances Saturday night:
After the show I spoke with Kailey Paiva (Instagram: @sadiep48), who was seeing Luke for the first time. Kailey, along with her boyfriend Connor O’Leary, ended up getting tickets just a week before the show, but since it was nearly sold out she was only able to find seats really high up and halfway behind the stage. But that was ok with her, as she sees Luke as one of her idols. When they arrived at the arena Saturday night, they first got to attend a meet and greet with Dustin Lynch, which they’d been selected for after signing up on Dustin’s website. “I really liked how personal he got with us,” said Kailey, “he was super sweet.” When Kailey and Connor got to their seats, they checked Luke’s app where he runs a contest at each show for an upgrade to pit tickets along with meet and greet passes. They snapped a pic and posted it to the app with their section and seat numbers, as did a ton of other fans in attendance that night. About 10 minutes later Ethan from Luke’s team approached them and asked them if they’d like to go stand down in the pit and meet Luke! “I literally started shaking, I couldn’t believe what was happening,” said Kailey. They were whisked backstage where they found Luke joking and laughing with some other fans. When it was her turn Kailey walked up to Luke and said “Thank you so much for letting me meet you, you are my idol.” Luke told her that meant so much to him and that he hoped they have so much fun. Kailey gave him a big hug, got her picture taken, and then they were off to the pit. Kailey added, “He put on such an amazing show and he connects with his audience so much! I got two guitar picks thrown at me too which was pretty cool! All in all Luke seriously gave me and my boyfriend a night we didn’t want to end!”
Winners of Saturday’s ticket upgrade through Luke’s app – Kailey Pavia & Connor O’Leary
Here are some video clips from Saturday night’s show:
The 2016 Kill The Lights Tour runs through October 29th. For a list of all of the tour dates head over to LukeBryan.com.
Luke Bryan Setlist – February 27, 2016 at the Mohegan Sun Arena:
Rain Is A Good Thing, Kick The Dust Up, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye, Move, I See You, Crash My Party, Play It Again, Roller Coaster, Strip It Down, Someone Else Calling You Baby, Play Something Country (with Dustin Lynch), Huntin’ Fishin’ And Lovin’ Every Day, Drink A Beer, Drunk On You, All My Friends Say/Country Man, That’s My Kind Of Night. Encore: Country Girl (Shake It For Me), I Don’t Want This Night To End.
