Country Music News
In a press conference on Jan. 21, Luke Bryan revealed plans for a massive nationwide tour in 2015. The multi-Platinum vocalist is planning to release a new album this year, and starting in the spring, fans will be able to hear the new songs along with tried-and-true favorites at arenas, amphitheaters, and stadiums around the country.
The upcoming Luke Bryan tour, dubbed Kick Up the Dust, will kick off on May 1 in Hamilton, Ontario, and feature more than two dozen shows around North America. Among those will be seven stadium concerts in cities like Denver, San Francisco, and Detroit. Bryan will also play a concert at Nashville’s Vanderbilt Stadium, where he will somewhat surprisingly be the first country artist to perform. During all stadium concerts, “Dirt” duo Florida Georgia Line is scheduled to join as opening act.
Scattered between Bryan’s several 2015 festival appearances, the remaining dates on the Kick Up the Dust Tour will take reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year to more than 20 cities around North America, including Grand Forks, N.D., Washington, D.C., St. Louis, and Dallas, among many others. Find a more complete Luke Bryan tour schedule in our marketplace.
During the press conference, Bryan also revealed that he’s only recorded four songs for the upcoming 2015 album, so a release date is still pending. He did announce that one of those new songs will be “Kick Up the Dust,” from which the tour takes its name. A release date for the new album’s first single is also in the works.
iHeartRadio Country Festival Lineup Confirms First Four Acts
In other country music news, the iHeartRadio Country Festival finally confirmed the first wave of performers for its all-star 2015 roster. The first four acts on the iHeartRadio Country Festival lineup were announced on Jan. 21, including three of today’s top male solo artists: Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, and Brantley Gilbert. Rascal Flatts will also join the soloists as a featured performer at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, on May 2.
All four announced artists dropped new albums last year, and all four releases were No. 1 debuts on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. Notable among those was Gilbert’s “Just As I Am,” his first release in more than four years.
More acts will be added to the iHeartRadio Country Festival lineup as the Texas concert draws near.