Luke Bryan is in the final days of rehearsals for his upcoming Dirt Road Diaries Tour, which kicks off Thursday (January 17th) in Evansville, Indiana. The Georgia native will be taking a few more bells and whistles on tour, along with his ever-present upbeat personality and numerous hit songs. As he headlines his own (pretty much sold-out) tour, he says he learned a lot from some of the other artists he toured with previously, especially to deliver the best show he can. “You always learn from the big pros – they go out there and deliver it night in and night out, and you just want to conduct yourself in that fashion too,” says Luke. “Go in and be ready to put on a show night in and night out, and don’t take any second on stage ever for granted, and take your audience on rides, and let ‘em enjoy it and be a part of it. You kind of learn that by watching the guys that have been so successful doing that.”

The first leg of the tour will hit 20 markets through March, and features Thompson Square and Florida-Georgia Line.

Luke is set to co-host this year’s ACM Awards with buddy Blake Shelton. The 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas April 7th on CBS.

AUDIO: Luke Bryan talks about taking all he’s learned from other artists on the road and applying it to his own headline tour.

Luke Bryan (learning from other artists) OC: …doing that. :32
“You just kind of have to take all that knowledge and wrap it up into performing. And you always learn from the big pros – they go out there and deliver it night in and night out, and you just want to conduct yourself in that fashion too. Go in and be ready to put on a show night in and night out, and don’t take any second on stage ever for granted, and take your audience on rides, and let ‘em enjoy it and be a part of it. You kind of learn that by watching the guys that have been so successful doing that.”