Luke Bryan at the Houston Rodeo: Closing with the biggest crowd of the year
RodeoHouston saved the biggest one for last.
MORE FROM JOEY GUERRA: Houston Rodeo concerts won’t be the same without mom, but she’ll still sing louder
Other acts offered more traditional country (Turnpike Troubadours, Cody Jinks). Multiple hip rotations (NKOTB). More Jesus (Lauren Daigle). But no one had more fans than Luke Bryan.
The ‘American Idol’ part-time judge’s 10th Rodeo performance drew 74,779 paid admissions. This is the highest number this year and only 122 more people than the Troubadours.
Bryan is definitely a rodeo bet as is Ky Hamilton, this year’s bull riding champion. He has four shows in the top 25 overall for paid attendance, the most of any act.
His 15-song set was nonstop energy from the first strains of opener “I Don’t Want This Night to End.” She was wearing her signature baseball cap and skinny jeans.
“No, I don’t want this Houston Rodeo night to ever, ever end,” he joked.
Putting the city in your lyrics is a guaranteed way to rile up a crowd, so obviously he’s done it time and time again.
Bryan’s music teeters on the edges of bro-country and country-pop, from the cornfield party starter “Kick the Dust Up” to the electronic flourishes of “Waves.” None of this is too serious, and that’s fine with him.
“Rain makes corn / Corn makes whiskey / Whiskey makes my baby feel a little frisky,” she sings during “Rain is a Good Thing.” It’s still one of the best worst lyrics of all time.
“What Makes You Country” was a rebuke to critics who think it’s not true to the genre. “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day” was a fantastic showcase for the whole band.
Bryan is at his best with the slower songs – “Crash My Party”, “Play it Again” – which contrast his rugged persona with more reflective lyrics. (He left out “Drink a Beer,” he better than him.)
The Rodeo crowd, however, just wanted to rock her. And Bryan gave them what they wanted.. He hit the floor during “Country Girl,” where fans gathered to take pictures and wave them for him, them, and the upcoming season of Rodeo.
Luke Bryan’s Rodeo Houston lineup
“Kick the Dust” “Rain is a Good Thing” “What Makes You Country” “Hunt, Fish and Love Every Day” “Buy Dirt” “Country On” “Crash into My Party” “Waves” “Sunrise, Sunburn , sunset””Play it again””A Margarita””Knockin’ Boots””This is my kind of night””Country girl (shake it for me)”
More Rodeo reviews by Joey Guerra
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