Luke Bryan kicks off his 2016 Kill The Lights Tour at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana on Thursday (February 18th), and he’s taking along some friends with Little Big Town and Dustin Lynch. They’ll perform nearly 70 concerts across the U.S. before wrapping this fall. The tour also includes five stadiums shows- July 16th in Boston at Gillette Stadium, August 19th, in Minneapolis at U.S. Bank Stadium, August 27th in Chicago at Wrigley Field, October 22nd in Dallas at AT&T Stadium, and closing out the tour October 29th in Detroit at Ford Field.
Luke couldn’t be happier that both acts will be on the road with him. ““When I found out we were able to get Little Big Town to tour with me, which is a huge honor for me. They’re headliners in themselves, and we started the talks, and I was like, ‘Oh my God. They’re interested. Let’s do this,’” says Luke. “We got together and worked it out, and now it’s my job to just get with them and create just a fun experience for the fans with them. And I was chomping at the bit to ask Dustin last year did he want to come out again. I just feel like the tour is a great package, and I think I’m just excited about the whole package. It’s gonna be an amazing year.”
The members of Little Big Town are equally as thrilled to hit the road with their pal, Luke, and hope to be able to save some money in the long run. “Nobody throws a party bigger than Luke does, and if you don’t know this about us, we kinda like to have a good time too, so we’re not gonna have any fun,” laughs LBT’s Karen Fairchild. Her bandmate Kimberly Schlapman puts a little levity into the conversation with her tip for not spending a lot on stage clothes. “We’re gonna save some money on wardrobe because Luke, Karen and I can all wear the same jeans.”
Over the weekend, the reigning CMA and ACM Entertainer of the Year learned his Kill The Lights album had been certified Platinum by the RIAA. The album debuted at No. 1 on both the Billboard Top 200, his third consecutive album to do so, and Top Country Albums charts. Kill The Lights contains Luke’s two-week No. 1 single “Home Alone Tonight” featuring Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town, which they’ll most certainly perform on the road together, and closed 2015 as the best-selling country album of the year and the 10th biggest selling album on the all-genre Billboard Top 200 Year-End list. Luke also wrapped 2015 as the most streamed country artist with 660 Million streams.
2016 Kill The Lights Tour:
2-18 Evansville, IN Ford Center
2-19 Peoria, IL Peoria Civic Center Arena
2-20 Cedar Falls, IA UNI Dome
2-25 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
2-26 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena **
2-27 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena **
3-8 Las Cruces, NM Pan American Center**
3-11 Little Rock, AR Verizon Arena **
3-12 Bossier City, LA CenturyLink Center **
4-7 Charleston, WV Charleston Civic Center Coliseum
4-8 Baltimore, MD Royal Farms Arena
4-9 Syracuse, NY Carrier Dome
4-14 Toledo, OH The Huntington Center
4-15 State College, PA Bryce Jordan Center
4-16 Charlottesville, VA John Paul Jones Arena
4-21 Missoula, MT Adams Center
4-22 Bozeman, MT Brick Breeden Fieldhouse
4-29 Concord, CA Concord Pavilion
4-30 Fresno, CA Save Mart Center
5-1 Indio, CA Stagecoach
5-12 Omaha, NE CenturyLink Center
5-13 Wichita, KS INTRUST Bank Arena
5-14 Oklahoma City, OK Chesapeake Energy Arena
5-20 Atlanta, GA Lakewood Amphitheater
5-21 Atlanta, GA Lakewood Amphitheater
5-27 Baton Rouge, LA Bayou Country Superfest*
5-29 Daytona Beach, FL Florida Country Superfest*
6-2 Holmdel, NJ P.N.C. Bank Arts Center
6-3 Atlantic City, NJ Boardwalk Hall
6-4 Hershey, PA Hershey Park Stadium
6-9 Virginia Beach, VA Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach
6-10 Washington, DC Jiffy Lube Live
6-11 Washington, DC Jiffy Lube Live
6-17 Oshkosh, WI Country USA*
6-19 Columbus, OH Buckeye Country Superfest*
6-24 Toronto, ON Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
6-25 Toronto, ON Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
7-7 Milwaukee, WI Summerfest*
7-8 Indianapolis, IN Klipsch Music Center
7-9 Indianapolis, IN Klipsch Music Center
7-16 Boston, MA Gillette Stadium
7-17 Bangor, ME Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion
7-21 Scranton, PA The Pavilion at Montage Mountain
7-22 Pittsburgh, PA First Niagara Pavilion
7-23 Pittsburgh, PA First Niagara Pavilion
7-29 Philadelphia, PA BB&T Pavilion
7-30 Philadelphia, PA BB&T Pavilion
7-31 Saratoga Springs, NY Saratoga Performing Arts Center
8-11 Cleveland, OH Blossom Music Center
8-12 Cleveland, OH Blossom Music Center
8-13 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
8-14 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
8-19 Minneapolis, MN U.S. Bank Stadium
8-21 Calgary, AB Country Thunder Calgary*
8-25 Bonner Springs, KS Cricket Wireless Amphitheater
8-26 St. Louis, MO Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
8-27 Chicago, IL Wrigley Field
9-1 Raleigh, NC Walnut Creek Amphitheatre
9-2 Charlotte, NC PNC Music Pavilion
9-9 Denver, CO Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
9-10 Denver, CO Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
9-15 Sacramento, CA Toyota Amphitheatre
9-16 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre
9-22 Phoenix, AZ Ak-Chin Pavilion
9-30 Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheatre
10-1 Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheatre
10-22 Dallas, TX AT&T Stadium
10-29 Detroit, MI Ford Field
Dates and Cities subject to change
*festival date
**no Little Big Town
Luke Bryan (touring with LBT & Dustin) OC: …amazing year. :35
“When I found out we were able to get Little Big Town to tour with me, which is a huge honor for me. They’re headliners in themselves, and we started the talks, and I was like, ‘Oh my God. They’re interested. Let’s do this.’ We got together and worked it out, and now it’s my job to just get with them and create just a fun experience for the fans with them. And I was chomping at the bit to ask Dustin last year did he want to come out again. I just feel like the tour is a great package, and I think I’m just excited about the whole package. It’s gonna be an amazing year.”
LBT (Luke tour) OC: (Kimberly) …need some lessons. :47
KAREN: “We’ve been on such an incredible ride and he’s been on such an incredible ride, and it just felt like, ‘Gol, this would be incredible if we could just put it together.’ Being back out on the road with Dustin Lynch again is gonna be so much fun. Nobody throws a party bigger than Luke does, and if you don’t know this about us, we kinda like to have a good time too, so [laughs]…(PHILLIP: “We’re not gonna have any fun at all.”) …we’re not gonna have any fun. (JIMI: “It’s gonna be so boring.”) Yeah, we’re looking forward to it. The whole year will be with Luke.” KIMBERLY: “And we’re gonna save some money on wardrobe because Luke, Karen and I can all wear the same jeans.” [laughs] KAREN: “We’re gonna weigh in backstage.” JIMI: “I guess Phillip and I are gonna have to learn how to shake our hips or something to be on that stage.” KIMBERLY: “Yeah, y’all need some lessons.”
LBT (Luke tour) OC: …come back. :31
“I think the energy is gonna be off the charts. Just the crowds are gonna be amped up. We’re all out there ready to have fun, and Dustin is a really energetic and charismatic performer and can really get the crowd going. He’s a seasoned veteran on stage. So, it’s pretty cool to have that much talent to be surrounded by, [and] we’re in the middle! [laughs] So, we’re right there, and it’s gonna be an incredible time. Hopefully, people will come away feeling amazing and wanting to come back.”