As a college student who just got back from the sandy beaches of spring break, I was stunned when I heard the news that Luke Bryan is calling an end to his domination as the spring-break-southern-state-country-music-concert-phenomena. After seven years on the spring break concert scene, Luke Bryan says it is time for him to let it go of his infamous spring break series, now that he is nearing forty years old (I don’t care what he thinks, I would see him in any concert any day no matter how old he is).
I was shocked by this news because of the hype I realized he received while on my freshman year spring break trip, just two short years ago. Some friends and I had road tripped all the way down to Gulf Shores, Alabama and the entire car ride my friends played Luke Bryan’s 2013 Spring Break album Here to Party. To this day, I hear one of those songs and I can’t help but smile at the memories of lying on the beach and touching my toes in the Gulf of Mexico for the very first time. While I never got the chance to see any of his spring break concerts live, the song “Just a Sip” from that 2013 album will always bring me back to that very sunny trip to Alabama.
Luke Bryan’s reign as a country music spring break all-star started in 2009 with his album With all my Friends. From there he went on to have six more albums, and with each album came concerts in places like Gulf Shores, Alabama and
Panama City, Florida. The next six album tours were Spring Break: Hangover Edition, It’s a Shore Thing, Suntan City, Here to Party, Like We Ain’t Ever, and Checkin’ Out. His songs have been an anthem for students travelling down the beaches of America while they escape from the reality of school, homework, tests, and real life for just one week. And now, although his reign his over, those anthems will be sure to live on.
While it is always sad to think of the end of an era, it may just be a positive transition for Luke Bryan in to a new artistic light. He’s criticized with being “too bro country” for country music, but this could be a turning point in his career. He is gifted with a good voice, a pretty face, and the ability to make people want to sing along to his catchy songs. I would love to see some more out of him than just the party anthems he is most famously known for. Recently, he has dabbled in to some more somber themes that reflect on some of the hardships in his life, such as the song he sings about the loss of someone close to him “Drink a Beer.”
Although it is a bit bittersweet that Luke Bryan is ending his era as the Spring Break tyrant, I think that there are good things that lay ahead for him. I’m a Luke Bryan fan ‘til the end, and will remain loyal to him through whatever bro-country controversy that he may bring upon himself. But it is my hope that he now takes this newfound maturity at the age of almost 4 decades to reach out to more listeners with his music and show how talented he truly is.
I agree with you that it is disappointing for Luke Bryan to have decided to end his Spring Break albums, especially since these songs in addition to his Spring Break performances have really solidified his image as an artist. I think this, as well as his more emotional songs from his most recent album show a sneak peek to a new Luke that I hope we’ll see on his next album. Bro-country is dying out and with Bryan being nearly 40, I see this being a great time for him to transition into something new in order to stay relevant. Regardless of wher he goes next, I have no doubt that his signature deep voice and unique lyrics will keep his future albums just as good, if not better, than his bro-country style music.
I was really saddened to hear this as well. I had a really similar experience to your freshman year spring break this year: on the drive to Gulf Shores, and all day every day while we were there, we listened to country music, and it was usually Luke Bryan. His music is always great to listen to at the beach, and it’s sad that he won’t be doing this anymore. I understand his decision to stop being so associated with bro country and spring break, but I wonder if it will be beneficial to him in the long run, because his fan base is somewhat made up of college spring breakers, and it will be interesting to see if they enjoy his new, more serious music.
I have always wanted to attend a Luke Bryan concert, especially because there seems to be so much hype associated with them. It seems that he puts on a great show each and every time leaving people with many memories, and I would love to be able to experience that type of concert atmosphere. After reading your blog post, I was actually kind of surprised by Luke Bryan’s age; I had thought that he was maybe 35 at the oldest. While his “Spring Break” theme is coming to an end, I am looking forward to what is in store for him next and excited to see where the sound of his music goes.
I was pretty surprised to hear this news. Spring break just seems like such a central part of Luke Bryan’s career. I have a feeling that Luke Bryan may be trying to branch out to a more serious country audience instead of the spring break crowd, but time will tell. I am interested to see what this will do to his career in the long run and what direction he plans to take it. I would love to see more songs like “Drink a Beer” from Luke Bryan. It is apparent that he can convey that emotion through his songs and I would love to see him convey that emotion again. It’s crazy to think that Bryan has released seven spring break albums and that he won’t be releasing anymore, but I’m excited to see what lies ahead in his career.
As shocking as this news was, I think that it’s a good career move for Luke Bryan. He’s been associated with the party scene for well beyond his partying years. With the release of his latest album that contains more soulful songs that delve into more serious topics I think it gave him the perfect transition from party boy to serious artist. I also really enjoy the song writing of his newer stuff. It makes him seem much more like a real person and creates this very authentic connection between the listener and performer. Before, I felt like he lacked the depth of a lasting country artist, but now I feel like he has the potential to stay around for much longer. I’m excited to see what he decides to do next.
As everyone else has commented, I am very surprised to hear this. Even though it does make sense for him to move on from the spring break scene. I went to Luke Bryan’s Spring Break Concert in PCB my sophomore year and had so much fun. Not only did we see him in concert there but his album was basically our spring break anthem that year. Now every time I listen to his spring break albums I reminisce on my time in PCB. However, if Luke Bryan is looking for move on from these types of songs than I do think that this is a very good move for him.