The 4,157-person town of Centralia, Missouri sure did get a show last Friday night when Luke Bryan made his way to Stowers Farm for his eighth annual Farm Tour. This was his first-ever stop in Missouri for the tour, and I am still thanking my lucky stars for this experience. Special thanks to the Stowers family for blessing all of us with their many acres of land so we could see Luke Bryan thrust up close and personal.
The ginormous stage, equipped with two jumbo screens, gave off the typical concert feel, but, PLOT TWIST, you were standing on mud in a wide-open field. The atmosphere that the farm brought to this concert was something truly special that gave it a unique spin. The anticipation for Luke grew high as doors opened at 6:00 p.m., and he did not make his grand entrance until 9:00 p.m., but trust me … it was worth the wait.
He got the crowd all hyped and ready for the night as he opened with an old classic, “Rain Is a Good Thing.” After his opener, he brought Greg and Kara Stowers (pictured below) on stage and presented them with a $5,000 check. You could tell by the look in his eyes that this is something Luke is definitely passionate about, and the Stowers family greatly appreciated it. He continued to explain the true meaning of his farm tour and stated how “there’s nobody that works harder than the American farmer.”
His next song, “Kick the Dust Up,” really brought the “farm” down because, just like his lyrics say in the song, Centralia definitely “turned [that] cornfield into a party.” It was followed by songs like “Drunk on You” that started his career, “Here’s to the Farmer” and “Southern Gentleman” from his Farm Tour EP track list, and also songs off his most recent album like “Strip it Down” and “Huntin,’ Fishin’ and Lovin Every Day.” Luke’s face lit up as he played “Drink a Beer,” “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye,” and “Crash My Party” as all 20,000 fans sang along with him. This multiple CMA Entertainer of the Year winner definitely knows how to make girls in the audience swoon, as he incorporates butt shaking into every song. To end the night, yep, you guessed it, he closed with the most butt-shaking song of all time, “Country Girl (Shake it for Me)” and boy did he shake it.
The Georgia native brought out his southern charm as he cracked jokes about how Missourians call it “Missour-ah” and proceeded to call it that the whole night. He repeated multiple times how it was “the most successful farm tour yet” and expressed a lot of giddiness when he heard that Centralia closed down school that day for his concert. All in all, Luke Bryan gave the best concert on a farm that I have ever seen. Fingers crossed he comes back to the good ole’ state of Missouri because you won’t want to miss this special experience the next time he comes around.