Critic Receives Criticism For Rightly Pointing Out Luke Bryan’s Decline
Listen/view this article on YouTube
You’ve got to love when an actual music critic does their actual job. It’s so extremely rare in music these days aside from places like Saving Country Music. 99% of the time, seldom is heard a discouraging word, and the skies are not cloudy all day when it comes to music coverage, as fawning “critics” with low self-esteem attempt to sow clout for themselves by licking the boots of their favorite entertainers.
One critic named Ross Raihala up in Minneapolis/St.Paul isn’t here for all that though. He attended a Luke Bryan concert at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Saturday, October 14th, and let Luke Bryan have it in The Pioneer Press (paywalled) for a host of reasons that are hard to say are invalid.
Mr. Raihala didn’t make it personal, but pointed out empirically true things about the decline of Luke Bryan’s career. Previously Bryan had played big stadium shows in the area, and this year was playing an arena show that included some empty seats. He also pointed out that Luke Bryan’s singles aren’t exactly shooting up the charts like they did in previous years.
“To be sure, the guy is still popular,” the review points out. “Nearly selling out the X is no small feat. But perhaps audiences are more interested in fresher faces like Luke Combs, Zach Bryan, and Morgan Wallen. Combs filled USBS in May, Wallen’s got a pair of shows booked there in June and Bryan will make his Vikings Stadium debut in August. It’s also worth noting Combs and Bryan (but not Wallen) have a more grounded, emotional approach to making music.”
In a nutshell, this guy who reviews arena and stadium shows for all genres, and sees country from the outside looking in, is describing what is happening in country music at the moment. Even if Luke Combs and Zach Bryan are not your thing, it’s undeniable that they are the ones on top now, the Bro-Country acts of the past like Luke Bryan are on the wane, and country music is much better off for it.
The critic went on to call Luke Bryan the “king of bro country,” which is disputable, but not entirely untrue perhaps. He also said Bryan “specializes in sound-alike songs about partying, pickup trucks, boots and beer.” He also said Bryan “was far less animated and physical than previous shows.”
In some respects, you could almost feel a little bad for Luke Bryan. One of the long-standing issues with country music is the ageist nature of the industry and its fans that has also affected artists that are much more country, and of much better quality than Luke Bryan. At only 47, Luke Bryan is slowly being put out to pasture. But then when you hear his recent singles such as “Country On” and “But I Got a Beer In My Hand,” it’s hard not to understand why. They feel straight out of 2015.
Before late 2021, Luke Bryan had 21 straight singles go #1 except for one that went #2. Now his last three singles have failed to go #1. As soon as you lose that love from country radio, it rarely comes back. And when you’re an artist like Luke Bryan and radio isn’t supporting you, you have no grassroots to fall back upon.
Luke Bryan has minted 26 #1 singles according to Billboard, some of which will be memorable country songs from early in his career like “Rain Is A Good Thing,” and a few others here and there like perhaps the 2014 hit “Play It Again.” But his career has also progressed mostly as product, and in the age of Zach Bryan and Tyler Childers selling out arenas and stadiums, fans are just moving on.
Luke Bryan took the rather unprecedented move to call out the Twin Cities critic on X/Twitter. But if Bryan was smart, he’d heed what this critic as saying. Doubling down on the Bro-Country era is not what’s going to keep Luke Bryan’s career sustainable at the arena level for very long.
What is going to be the future of mainstream country music? It’s going to be country songs, it’s going to be country artists, it’s going to be music that can distinguish itself from pop as opposed to pander to it, and be memorable beyond the moment that it’s playing in the background.
With so many options out there today in independent country, mainstream country is going to need to offer music of more meaning to survive, as the independent continues to not just rival the mainstream, but become it. And in many respects, this is already happening. Luke Bryan just isn’t a part of it.
– – – – – – – –
UPDATE: After Saving Country Music posted this article, Luke Bryan responded on X/Twitter, “You can kiss my ass too.”
He later went onto say to Saving Country Music and the original critic Ross Raihala, “I have never phoned anything in my life. I’ll keep this shit going as long as y’all want. I sit back watch y’all chirp. Over it. Turn around and watch the crowd. Another thing. I played from 9:08 til. 11:05. No encore because I ran over the building codes. 10:40 would have been phoning it in. And you right. I did confuse another review from another publication. Check pollstar numbers if you think I’m in decline saving country dude.”
October 18, 2023 @ 9:47 am
I was on the Luke Bryan fangirl train for years.bin his prime his concerts were energetic and a good time. But, I’ve grown up since 2013 and so has Luke. I don’t really care to hear about the things he sings about anymore. I have passed on tickets the last two years because how many times can you sing and gyrate to songs about trucks and beer.
October 19, 2023 @ 5:14 am
onemargaritatwomargaritathreemargirita
SHOT
October 18, 2023 @ 10:10 am
Luke Bryan took the rather unprecedented move to call out the Twin Cities critic on X/Twitter.
That right there is the mark of an act who is at best insecure of his legacy and at worst one who knows that he’s going to rightly be looked on by history as a complete and utter hack.
And it can’t happen too soon. Good riddance.
October 18, 2023 @ 10:20 am
Luke Combs, Luke Bryan, Zach Bryan…it’s a wonder non-country critics can even keep all these generic names separate. All we need is a Zach Combs and the circle will be unbroken.
October 19, 2023 @ 3:34 am
Don’t forget about adding a “Brian Combs” – just to keep thing interesting…
October 23, 2023 @ 6:22 am
Ahuum…. Zachary Lucas Breanna Combs-Combs
October 18, 2023 @ 10:23 am
The thought of watching/hearing an almost 50 year old man in skinny jeans singing and gyrating to the lyrics of Knocking Boots is enough to make me vomit.
That critic deserves a medal for bravery for even going to the show in the first place.
October 18, 2023 @ 10:26 am
Luke is moving in a different direction these days.its fine his life.wants more family time.he made enough money to last him until the end of his life don’t like it move on.i love my Luke Bryan
October 18, 2023 @ 10:28 am
Raihala needs to put that 5th triple cheeseburger down, wipe the grease off his chin, and think about how an excess 300 pounds is not good for him.
October 18, 2023 @ 7:46 pm
Di, that remark is beneath you.
October 18, 2023 @ 9:45 pm
Thank you, sincerely appreciate the reminder not to get down in the mud.
But, Ross R. seriously needs to try something to protect his health.
Been munching on celery the last few days. That would be a great place to start.
And, craving raw vegetables.
Mr. Raihala will feel MUCH better, if he can just find a place to dive in. Wishing him success.
While munching that stalk of celery tonight, thought yep, it all comes back to the simple way of eating.
Not trying to be a smart butt, – need to include music ???? in this comment.
How about – saw trailers for Killers Of The Flower Moon, this evening.
Does Sturgill sing in this movie?
October 19, 2023 @ 7:21 am
This is a much better approach to being concerned about someone’s health than simple name calling.
I watched a documentary on PBS about the accumulation of fat in certain people and it was fascinating.
They had one guy on the biggest loser who had to quit his job to work out enough to keep the weight off. It just accumulated. Wild how human bodies are different.
Luke’s not for me, and doesn’t in my mind contribute much to music. Shout out to saving country music though. If they see you you’re doing something right.
October 19, 2023 @ 5:52 pm
Not a music comment, buuuut Killers of the Flower Moon was a fascinating book. I read it and very much recommend it.
October 19, 2023 @ 8:51 pm
Thank you for the recommendation.
Hope to pick up a copy this weekend.
October 19, 2023 @ 5:16 am
Di, certainly takes the O out of CoUNTRY
October 19, 2023 @ 5:42 am
Name-calling does not elevate the conversation. It’s frustrating enough to come here and read disagreements about political issues, but those are at least efforts at substantive dialogue. Personal insults (like Di’s comment) and name-calling (like yours) don’t add anything, but they amp up the tension, exacerbate division, disrespect Trig, and demean all of us.
I apologize for veering into finger-wagging, but I hope we can all start capitalizing on our power to help this site keep growing as a place of vibrant, respectful interchange about our dynamic music scene.
October 19, 2023 @ 5:57 am
Matt, I agree with you, and apologize. I just get tired of coming here every day, and seeing a snide remark or pretentious, holier than thou comment by her.
October 19, 2023 @ 6:04 am
this comment is beneath the gal that blames rape victims? lmao.
October 19, 2023 @ 7:24 am
This thread is the exact reason Di Harris’s comments continue to get deleted. You should see what doesn’t make it into the comments section. And every time I do approve one of her comments, I regret it, because it turns into a tangent like this. Every time. Because this is what she’s trying to do. And the more I publicly chide her for refusing to stay on topic, the more insanely off-topic she goes, as if mentioning a movie that Sturgill Simpson appears in is a hall pass to post other off-topic shit.
No more.
October 19, 2023 @ 8:01 am
“Di, that remark is beneath you.”
Is it, though?
October 18, 2023 @ 10:31 am
Luke’s got a collab with Jon Pardi, of all people, being pushed to radio now and early response has been, of course,enthusiastic. As for the song, “Cowboys and Plowboys,” it was Pardi’s idea and apparently is destined for Jon’s next album. Not great by any means, but it has just enough ’90s-country kick to it to make it one of the few songs Bryan sings on that doesn’t get me pushing the preset buttons.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySwGWeh42Is
October 18, 2023 @ 11:07 am
I’m just glad Luke stuck around long enough to record Bill Dance, which I thought was a great valedictory for a man who meant something to a lot of people.
October 18, 2023 @ 11:16 am
I’ve obviously avoided Luke Bryan like the plague for ten years but thank you for making me aware of this song. As someone that watched all of TNN Outdoors every week, but watched mainly for Bill, that was a special song
October 19, 2023 @ 8:03 am
Wonder if that song was inspired by Fred Bear.
October 18, 2023 @ 11:07 am
Early Luke Bryan was a fun novelty. “Rain is a Good Thing” isn’t objectively great, but it was amusing. “Country Man” sounded like a Ray Stevens song and that is a good thing. Watch the music video. It is a hoot. Luke understood then how to be humorous. “All My Friends Say” is legitimately good and accurately describes how some guys overreact to an old flame.
But he sold out hard. Now, he is a relic. I decided yesterday on the drive home to switch on the radio. His new song came on. It felt like a forgotten cut from 2016, and not in a good way. He is tapped out. During his peak, I understood why people flocked to his music. He was all style and no substance. Those guys never age well. He is the modern Sonny James. Lots of hits but no classic songs.
October 18, 2023 @ 11:28 am
Yeah. Some of his early album cuts were really not bad at all. The Car in Front of Me, Y’All Can Have This Town, Tackle Box, etc. are all perfectly serviceable country songs.
It was all of the pop/bro/Spring Break dross that earned him his deservedly bad reputation.
October 18, 2023 @ 11:31 am
I would’ve never thought to compare Luke Bryan to Sonny James, but you oddly have a great point in the parallels. Young Love was a huge hit and his most famous song, but I wouldn’t even call it a classic.
October 18, 2023 @ 12:33 pm
Countryknight.
You and I may have not always agreed, but we have always manage to be civil, and mostly not get dragged into back-and-forth when one of us posted something the other disagrees with. But you have revealed that you don’t have a clue in the world what you’re talking about with this comment.
You obviously have no understanding of the career of Sonny James to make an ill informed comment like this one. The man was a contest, winning fiddle player, had the chops on guitar to record an entire instrumental, guitar album, and was squeezed out of the Golden Era of country music, because, despite his own monumental talents, there was another Roy Clark, another Jackie Phelps, Another, Barbara Mandrell, around every corner.
Sonny, James didn’t leave a lasting impact because he was competing in the most talented crowded field in country music history. There were simply so many great singers, great instrumentalists, all packed into Nashville between 1955 and 1985, that even someone with a depth of talent as impressive as he is, simply couldn’t compete
It’s an unfair comparison to Luke Bryan. A guy who, so far as I can tell, has absolutely zero discernible talent whatsoever outside of a marketable face.
A more fitting comparison, for Luke Bryan might be Tony, Orlando and Dawn, or Dave and sugar, or any number of artists whose appeal was in
The imagery
I have, never in my life, heard anyone fawn over the physical appearance of Sonny James.
October 19, 2023 @ 6:55 am
Fuzzy,
I can’t recall a time when we had a contentious disagreement.
My comment on Sonny James wasn’t an attack on his skills. He was supremely talented and had a skillset far superior to Bryan. Luke has a fine voice that he has wasted on tommyrot.
My point was James racked up 23 or 26 #1 singles (depending on the source), yet his legacy became virtually non-existent. I haven’t seen him mentioned as an influence or seen a tribute album or name-dropped in a song. I think the Ken Burns documentary overlooked him, too. He produced, like Bryan, an impressive streak of #1 songs but fell into oblivion. Trigger wrote a beautiful eulogy about him, and the article drew only 16 comments. He was famous. He was the first country star to have a Hollywood star.
But where are the classic songs? I listen occasionally to an oldies country station and never heard his songs. Review his #1 singles, many appear to be covers designed with the intent of keeping his streak going over artistic intent. The Steve Hoffman music forums revealed that his hit songs were mostly covers. They have some great threads on weekly #1 songs by each decade. James’ hits often stayed at #1 for weeks.
The Country Gentleman was a contemporary star. He embraced the popular Nashville Sound. He collected more #1 singles than most of the legends. Legacy is a funny thing. Some singers like Paycheck and Coe were minor chart toppers but are remembered for one signature song or off-the-mic antics. James, for all his hits, faded into obscurity. I believe Luke will suffer the same fate. James’ material was certainly better.
But Fuzzy, Sonny did compete with that vast talent pool. You don’t notch 26 #1 singles without swimming. He wasn’t some one-hit wonder or minor chart artist. He was a commercial force.
Look at the opening paragraphs from the Country Music HOF:
“Sonny James enjoyed one of country music’s most successful careers. Between 1953 and 1983, he scored an impressive seventy-two chart records, forty-three of which reached the Top Ten and twenty-three of which went to #1.
According to Billboard statistics, between 1960 and 1979, he spent fifty-seven weeks in the #1 chart position—more than any other country artist of the era.”
It wasn’t my intention to insult Sonny.
That is the 1960s-1970s equivalent of Bryan’s commercial run. That was my point.
PS: I am sure James, in his prime, had female admirers.
October 19, 2023 @ 8:23 am
That’s more like it
James is probably in my top fifteen country singers of all time. That guitar album of his is one of the most tasteful and sensitive albums on the instrument, demonstrating more intimacy with his playing than hot licks
His fiddling is sorely under-documented but as a fiddler myself, I know firsthand how cutthroat fiddle contests are
I stand by my statement that James has been overlooked in country history because he was contemporary to so many legendary figures from the era that he simply got squeezed out
I love ‘til the last leaf shall fall’ but it’s no ‘yesterday when I was young’
‘The cat came back’ is my personal favorite because I lived it!
Had a cat that stuck around for 22 years, vanished a few days a couple times, came back fit as a fiddle, never so much as a nicked ear
I maintain that sonny James left a big influence at least among those people who know country music
Casual listeners all know Waylon, Willie, Johnny, and Merle, but sunny James, like Hank Locklin, is one of those people you only really know about if you love country music
October 20, 2023 @ 10:42 am
“The Cat Came Back” was a popular song at Scout Camp.
October 18, 2023 @ 1:44 pm
I agree with your point. But I take offense because only because my grandma grew up with Sonny James in Alabama. I don’t know any of his songs.
October 18, 2023 @ 11:17 am
I can’t ever think of Luke Bryan criticism without laughing about the time that Zac Brown did an interview and called “That’s My Kind of Night” the “worst song I’ve ever heard”.
Others have made valiant efforts, but he may still be right.
Anecdotal, but Turnpike played the Ryman on the same night Luke Bryan played a “Sold Out” Bridgestone in August. No idea what it looked like on the inside, but I can tell you that I had a much easier time navigating Broadway and getting an Uber out of downtown than I did the month before when Blink played Bridgestone.
October 18, 2023 @ 5:03 pm
Funny thing is I think Zac Brown actually made the worst song anyone’s ever heard in Swayze.
October 18, 2023 @ 8:54 pm
Haha hard to argue too much. But to be fair, this comment was made in 2013 when Zac was the king of mainstream country.
That’s more than half a decade before cocaine convinced him he could rap.
October 19, 2023 @ 5:13 am
Thank you for mentioning Swayze. I just watched the video of it and it’s flipping hilarious ???? ????!!!
October 25, 2023 @ 1:43 am
there’s a song called “swayze”? get outta here…,
October 18, 2023 @ 11:20 am
I will always defend early Luke Bryan, I saw him at a free show in Louisville in 2009 or 2010 and it was a lot of fun. We Rode in Trucks is a good song. He singles were fun but nothing of substance. Nothing wrong with tailgate music and the occasional song to have on in the background at a bonfire, but that can’t be your whole catalogue. He sold out hard, and it sucked to have to actively avoid someone who by all accounts is a great guy. He made a ton of money but I doubt he has any sort of muscial legacy in 20 to 30 years.
October 18, 2023 @ 12:40 pm
Yeah, I have to agree. The disappointing part about Luke Bryan is that even me, the one classic country purist who admittedly rarely listens to anything this side of the mid 70s as far as mainstream country goes. Even the guy who admittedly isn’t the worlds biggest Alan Jackson fan, even me who Has yet to listen to a turnpike song, has yet to hear anything by Mike and the Moonpies,
Even classic country, purist, uncompromising me, will agree, wholeheartedly that some of Luke Bryan’s album cuts are legitimately good country songs
So far as I can tell, every Luke Bryan album has one solid gold track, hidden somewhere in the back of the filler,
I think, knowing that someone could have made better art if they were so inclined, is more disappointing than someone who demonstrably doesn’t have the ability.
And yeah, the dude seems like an OK guy. I mean he did throw that awkward punch at that one fan, and there was a rumor that he gave security at one venue, a hard time for not recognizing him, and letting him in without a pass, but everyone has bad days. And I imagine both of those were difficult situations
But yeah, it is weird that people will clown Luke Bryan for recording what makes money, but didn’t Jamey Johnson write that honky-tonk Badonkadonk song that we all hate so much?
But when he does it, we forgive it because the guys got bills to pay, and we know he makes better songs in his spare time, apparently.
Not to clown on Johnson any, he’s probably one of the best writers to Grace country music right up there alongside Bill Anderson, and Bob McDill
But I do think that there’s a little bit of a double standard when it comes to artists we like writing and working on songs we hate versus artists we already don’t like working on songs we hate
October 18, 2023 @ 1:47 pm
Do check out Turnpike, Moonpies, Wilder Blue, Peter Cooper (cowrote his book and produced Anderson).
October 18, 2023 @ 11:25 am
I think it’s also worth noting he released one of the best mainstream country ballads of the past 15 years with “Do I?”. He is capable of releasing good music when he wants to
October 18, 2023 @ 12:42 pm
You don’t know jack, I know you’re gonna be there, build me a daddy,
Not saying I have high hopes, but it might be interesting to see someday if Luke Bryan ever releases an album of stuff, he curates and writes, or chooses himself, what that might sound like, and if it might actually be any good
Because the guy has released a few good songs in his career. And that makes his commercial output that much more frustrating. Because we all know that it was a choice.
October 18, 2023 @ 11:31 am
Just leave Luke Bryan along he is still singing like Hank Jr. George Strait is. He is a good man
October 21, 2023 @ 9:38 am
Bryan isn’t not my thing and that’s fine. Everyone is in to different stuff. I’m glad you enjoy him. But c’mon. I can’t let a comparison seeming to equate his vocals with George Jones’ go unchecked.
October 18, 2023 @ 11:41 am
Worked in the same newsroom as Ross in St. Paul. He shoots straight. He does what an arts critic is supposed to.
October 19, 2023 @ 4:21 am
Good for you, David.
The only people more pleased with themselves than current journalists are former journalists. Well, that and leftist politicians…
October 19, 2023 @ 12:40 pm
Huh? What is that supposed to mean? What does that have to do with Ross or his review? And what do “leftist politicians” have to do with the discussion?
And if you want to go the “journalists-are-leftists” route, I’ll offer the same challenge I have to others. I spent a career at four newspapers, from small to medium to very big. Wrote hundreds, if not thousands (I never kept count) of articles from obits to features to breaking news to investigative pieces. Won a Pulitzer along the way. I challenge anyone to find an article in that body of work that reveals a political bent. So far, nobody has.
October 19, 2023 @ 1:59 pm
I’m sure there is a choice of subject matters over the years that could provide that context.
October 19, 2023 @ 2:27 pm
And I’m sure there’s not, so there’s that….
September 27, 2024 @ 5:54 am
Produce some writings and we can judge. I am not taking your opinion at face value, especially when only 3.4% of journalists aren’t leftists.
October 18, 2023 @ 11:44 am
This is awfully reminiscent of when Jason Aldean’s team bullied a Baltimore paper into pulling a negative review of his live show. Do your job by giving your honest opinion as a music critic? Try that in a small town, I guess. One of many examples of Aldean being nothing but hot air and hypocrisy
October 18, 2023 @ 12:46 pm
Yeah, I almost mentioned this in the article. It brought the Baltimore incident to my mind as well, but that time the article got outright censored. If anyone wants to read about it:
https://savingcountrymusic.com/scathing-jason-aldean-concert-review-censored/
October 24, 2023 @ 1:27 pm
The Baltimore City Paper was a free paper that was worth every cent that it cost to buy it, most useful for spreading on a table to eat steamed crabs on. Every issue had a hard left slant so strong that they made the Washington Post look like it was owned by FOX News. The critic went in knowing that he was going to write an attack article and spent the entire time looking for evidence rather than taking in the scene. It was no loss at all to Bmore when that rag folded.
October 18, 2023 @ 1:29 pm
Uh-huh, an honest opinion from a confirmed leftist journalist.
: D Why, i never …
(Go ahead and ask how I know)
Confirmed journalism with a leftist perspective.
Not that there’s a thing wrong with that.
Just helping keep it real.
Raihala, and Kitchens, prime examples of journalistic integrity.
Yeah, Buddy.
October 18, 2023 @ 2:20 pm
Once again this is off-topic and veering into contentious subjects. The political alignment of the journalist has nothing to do with anything. As he pointed out himself, he’s given positive reviews for other big country acts like Thomas Rhett, and negative ones for people like Shania Twain. It seems like he calls them as he sees them.
October 18, 2023 @ 3:42 pm
Yep, that’s the first thing I thought of as well.
October 18, 2023 @ 11:59 am
Also seems like he’s got a bit of a drinking problem. Says weird shit on stage, gained a lot of weight and appears to have the bloat that you get after drinking for 3 days straight, and always seems drunk when I see clips of him performing.
October 18, 2023 @ 12:39 pm
All that matters is what his fans think of him!! He has true and dedicated fans that will keep him in the spotlight where he deserves to be. The words of one critic will not cause his fans to abandon him. Quite the opposite!!
October 18, 2023 @ 12:48 pm
And it’s interesting because even though its singles were decidedly fodder for radio, the deeper cuts off of his most recent album “Born Here, Live Here, Die Here” were actually notably more country and dialed-down in their production than anything we had heard from Bryan going all the way back to “Doin’ My Thing”.
So his previous album era had this notable schism between what radio expected of him, and hinting at what he might sound like post-radio……………..and the latter was fairly decent.
However, each one of the stand-alone singles he has released thus far since that album era have smacked of ChatGPT auto-pilot both in their construction and lyrical content. “Country On” was egregiously check-listy, “But I’ve Got A Beer In My Hand” is basically “Knockin’ Boots 2.0” all the way down to the Luccheses reference, and now “Southern & Slow” is basically something straight out of the “Crash My Party” era.
October 18, 2023 @ 1:43 pm
Funny enough Southern and Slow was what my neighbor derogatorily called Bro-Country. I hope this isn’t the case but I think Luke Bryan is probably entering the era Brad Paisley did after accidental racist did damage to his career that was already on life support due to his fifteen years being up. In popular anything you get 15 years (five up five at the top of the world and five on the downside) and with rare exceptions it rarely gets better after the five on the downside. As this website promoted back in 2014 Brad Paisley was quite the bitter belligerent jackass when it came to criticism particularly when he “accidentally” leaked his album with friends. Luke needs to be careful or else he’ll start looking and acting like the south end of a north bound donkey like Brad did
October 18, 2023 @ 3:49 pm
In popular anything you get 15 years (five up five at the top of the world and five on the downside) and with rare exceptions it rarely gets better after the five on the downside,
I know it’s one of the exceptions to the rule, but this made me think of when George Strait released his first box set back in 1995. He’d been at it for going on 15 years at the time, and I was honestly afraid that was going to be his swan song (I was only 17 going on 18 years old at the time, and so back then 15 years was practically a lifetime to me). I would’ve never guessed some of his greatest years were ahead of him.
October 18, 2023 @ 12:49 pm
As a few people have mentioned, Bryan can actually write and record good country music. Now that he’s being dumped by radio, he has a chance to salvage his legacy with a couple straight up country albums with the songs he’s capable of. Maybe then he’ll be remembered for “Rain is a Good Thing”, “All My Friends Say”, “Play it Again”, and “Most People Are Good” instead of his cheesy sellout nonsense.
October 18, 2023 @ 1:48 pm
Agreed on the last two especially.
October 18, 2023 @ 6:43 pm
He has a good voice… Which is especially apparent when you hear him alongside Florida Georgia Line.
October 18, 2023 @ 1:48 pm
My wife snd so net Luke Bryan in the Kroger parking lot in a KY small town. He came off the bus in a near sprint and ran into my wife nearly knocking her down. He basically caught her to keep her from falling. He was the nicest artist I’ve ever met. He apologized profusely to her and me. He went on the bus and brought us an armload if swag and kept apologizing. His music is more mainstream, but he has some really good songs as well. I just admire that he isn’t an arrogant ass like most artist.
October 18, 2023 @ 2:03 pm
I’ve only heard good stories about Luke Bryan the person. He might be one of the most sincerely nice people in country music.
October 18, 2023 @ 2:05 pm
Though he did just tell me to “kiss his ass” on X/Twitter… 🙂
October 18, 2023 @ 2:15 pm
: D Well, why wouldn’t he?
October 18, 2023 @ 7:33 pm
Absolutely, that’s what I was going to say. Just cause you’re getting older doesn’t mean you have to quit caring about how you look bloated, unshaven and hungover.
Granted people thought he was sexy shaking that nice butt but his music was decent too. Now it’s like he doesn’t care but we are
supposed too. He’s got a beautiful wife, family and money what’s his problem. How’s he going to make any crowd happy when he looks pathetic. He use to be funny now he just thinks he is. Too bad I’d have still watched him shake his butt and sing, grower older, if he hadn’t stopped caring. He seems like such a nice guy when did he stopped caring about himself?
October 18, 2023 @ 1:50 pm
My biggest takeaway is that it’s nice to hear about a critic. I know there’s more music than any of us have time to listen to. It’s why I like this site and a few others. So many upcoming concert announcements, reviews, etc. are just puff lifted from the PR team.
October 18, 2023 @ 2:31 pm
Trying to hit on the stuff that made you popular amongst people in their 20s ten-fifteen years ago may seem like a good idea to satisfy the fan base, except that those fans are around middle age now and the younger party crowd doesn’t want to hear a 50yo dude singing about hooking up in a cornfields and drinking…and if they do, they’re probably not doing great in life.
If he wants to keep his fanbase, give em something of substance that relates to getting older, settling down with your family and the perspective that comes with age. If you sell less tix doing better work, so be it…you made your money, now do something worth a shit that you can hang your hat on, or just chill on your pile of cash…
…but I don’t guess that’s how the big mainstream country music machine allows things to play out while still throwing money behind it.
October 18, 2023 @ 3:42 pm
This is the same thing that Gary Allan went through. Singing songs about bars and drinking 20 years past his prime and him being in his late 40’s. He is not the first and won’t be the last to face…dare I say…times changing. He has cemented his name and brand. He will survive. Not my favorite singer. It was nothing personal from the reviewer. Just being honest.
October 18, 2023 @ 3:43 pm
I have never thought of Luke Bryan as bro country. He was more on the side of popular country than most bro country anyway. I wasn’t a big fan but I liked a couple of songs. I would still consider him country though. Eventually most stars get sidelined, it’s just his time. I agree now is the time to just start doing what he wants, not what he thinks will be a hit. Of course Zach. Bryan had to get mentioned here. Luke is far more country than zach but yea he’s not young n hip anymore so youngsters with no taste are moving over to Zach
October 18, 2023 @ 4:55 pm
He definetly leaned into bro country once florida georgia line made it popular. So did his fellow buckman aldean.
I couldnt agree more with every other word of your post.
October 19, 2023 @ 8:18 am
I think a song about sorority girls is peak bro country, not to mention a large chunk of his catalogue.
October 18, 2023 @ 3:50 pm
I am officially leveling my own criticism against the criticisms cast by the critics who criticized the original criticism.
October 18, 2023 @ 4:35 pm
As a small handful of corporations have increasingly taken over both the mainstream media and the major record labels, most music coverage comes across as PR. Just look at how the media covers Taylor Swift’s every move and seem to be trying to promote her to sainthood. And not the National Enquirer or TMZ, but the type of outlets that used to be thought of as respectable. The ones who would usually only mention a celebrity when they died.
Likely as a result of this, negative reviews are increasingly becoming a thing of the past and that’s a bad thing. Negative reviews aren’t necessarily correct, of course, but they can be and, if so, they can serve as a wake-up call to an artist to get their act together or at the very least a service to the fans who would have otherwise spent their hard-earned money on an album or concert ticket.
October 18, 2023 @ 4:45 pm
I remember decades ago when Loretta Lynn said country music was becoming like pop music. In other words, you are only as good as your last hit, I think she was right. On the other hand, if you don’t have good songs, even if you are a good or great artist, your music won’t sell. Maybe that is Luke Bryan’s problem.
October 18, 2023 @ 5:06 pm
Its naturally time. Just look up the artists who hit #1 in 2013. Theyre all irrelevant now. I dont think it has anything to do with song quality. Ten years from now Luke Combs and Zach Bryan wont be selling out stadiums anymore either.
October 18, 2023 @ 7:05 pm
George Strait disagrees. So does Kenny Chesney.
Alan Jackson would be selling out arenas at the moment if he was healthy enough to tour.
Taylor Swift was a star before Luke Bryan. Her stadium shows sell out immediately.
Song quality has a little something to do with it, I would suspect.
October 18, 2023 @ 7:59 pm
Are you actually implying Kenny Chesney songs are any deeper or better than Luke Bryans? Theres some crossover with their songwriters.
I’ll concede you thought of two out of hundreds of country stars that manages to sell massive amounts of tickets after their prime radio years. Kudos. The vast vast vast majority of them fall off.
Swift is a whole different thing cause of the pop transition. Maybe her and Alan Jackson could still be country titans if things went that way but I guess we’ll never know.
October 18, 2023 @ 5:59 pm
Ross Raihala is a dick. No if ands about it. He has always been a piss ant about country music. Anyone who’s from his neck of the woods ignored his “reviews”.
October 18, 2023 @ 6:09 pm
Oh and Ross is the pop music critic for that publication. He knows squat about country music.
October 18, 2023 @ 6:39 pm
Trig you can redeem yourself here by reviewing “Cowboys and Plowboys” in a positive light
October 18, 2023 @ 6:55 pm
I didn’t read all the comments, but maybe something is being missed here. With the possible exception of a few, most artists have their day in the limelight then fade. It is just normal trajectory. It can be due to the styles changing, and we are experiencing that now. But even if that were not the case, few stay on top their whole careers. It is easy to read something into this that may not be entirely applicable.
I agree with BDE above. I guess I did read one comment.
October 18, 2023 @ 7:15 pm
You must be exhausted from all this bitching and moaning. The only time your articles blow up is when you’re dragging on someone else. Who raised you?
October 19, 2023 @ 12:18 pm
My opinion doesn’t count for anything .
I’m more worried about the future of our country !
I miss Merle Haggard!
October 22, 2023 @ 2:14 pm
Me too!
October 18, 2023 @ 8:19 pm
Luke Bryan’s music is crap. Seems like a nice guy. Enough said.
October 18, 2023 @ 10:09 pm
Wow all of you ranking on Luke Bryan are assholes to me. Everyone doesn’t play the same things all there lives, and they also don’t stay young forever either. All I have to say is Wow!!!! No heart, No matter what he has fans people love him and that’s, that. Why all this haterd? Don’t we all have enough of that shit in this world?? Maybe not enough for all y’all huh. Well, then y’all carrying on. But My Lord in Heaven you all should really get a life. Is all I have to say.
P.S. Besides him being a good artist, he’s had a rough life loosing both of his siblings and raising his sisters kids and all. And he still comes out and is a genuinely nice person.
Wow!!!!
October 18, 2023 @ 8:20 pm
Really disappointed to see him responding like that. Never thought of him as a jerk before this. He’s not going to handle the inevitable decline well.
October 18, 2023 @ 8:41 pm
The shocker here is that a newspaper reviewed a concert. Our local Garnett paper quit that many years ago. When an act was coming to town, I used to search for reviews from cities where they recently played. Gave up on that long ago.
October 19, 2023 @ 5:53 am
I remember going to see Shooter Jennings who was playing at our local fair. His opener was a guy I never heard of named Luke Bryan. He was horrible, dancing around with his ball cap on backwards. Almost no one payed any attention to him, walking around and going out to get fair food or drinks. That included me and my wife who left to get a corndog. Who would have thought that less than a year later Bryan would be on his way to becoming a huge star? Now, it appears he is on his way to being washed up. Shame that it was Bryan and not Shooter that went on to that kind of success.
It’s encouraging that the tide of country music is beginning to change. However, I have no doubt that if mainstream does embrace this new wave of independent country stars as Trigger suggests they should, they will find a way to make it generic with tons of copycats saturating the market.
Remember when Nirvana was so refreshing when they brought rock music back to a more natural sound after years of hair metal? Then remember also when there were about a thousand Nirvana clones taking hair metal’s place.
October 19, 2023 @ 6:09 am
“saving country dude.” lmao
October 19, 2023 @ 8:14 am
You should put that in your bio, “Saving Country Dude”
October 19, 2023 @ 8:21 am
So what Luke Bryan fan site did this article linked to? So many weird comments.
October 19, 2023 @ 8:31 am
I’m proud of ya Trigger for getting Luke Bryan so pressed and upset. Truth hurts I guess.
October 19, 2023 @ 11:41 am
I actually enjoyed Luke’s first few albums. They weren’t offensive and were pretty fun/catchy. They even had a couple “good” songs on them. Kill the Lights was unlistenable, so were all the albums after that.
October 19, 2023 @ 12:48 pm
Decline? That’s hilarious, implying that he has ever been anything but bottom of the barrel competing with Florida Georgia Line for the title of “worst thing to ever happen to country music.”
October 19, 2023 @ 1:13 pm
Bryan may be just 47,I’d MUCH rather listen to 71-year-olds George Strait or (if he’d make a comeback,which is highly unlikely) Ricky Van Shelton,65-year-old (Tuesday) Alan Jackson and many other senior cowboy and cowgirls from the 70’s to the 2000’s. Guess Luke is getting too old to pass as a randy frat boy trying to make some twenty-something babe.
October 19, 2023 @ 1:15 pm
To say nothing of the bland good looks and accents of most of today’s Country acts
October 19, 2023 @ 1:17 pm
Luke Bryan and Jon Pardi.Now THAT should be an…….interesting pairing.
October 19, 2023 @ 3:55 pm
Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean are the two worst “artists” in country music. Their songs sounds like a 5 year old wrote them. Both are just terrible. Only shining light is Luke Bryan seems to be a good person. Jason Aldean, not so much. Maybe Jason’s wife can take his advice and stop talking because nobody cares what she has to say.
October 19, 2023 @ 9:01 pm
I’m #1 fan of Luke Bryan Mow and always. BEST Country Artist Singer you Luke, you are amazing and you are my idol Luke, and we us your fans we thank you so very much for all of your perfection hard work that you do and for bringing your amazing music to us your fans that we love . Your music is uplifting and positive vibes And this is why we love you Luke Bryan❤️ Get Over It!!
October 22, 2023 @ 7:02 am
This comment makes me physically ill and should be deleted in the name of public health.
October 19, 2023 @ 9:14 pm
His response tweet sounds triggered and insecure.
October 19, 2023 @ 9:19 pm
Remember this is what Luke Bryan said about outlaw country music…
“ I don’t know about laying in the gutter, strung out on drugs. I don’t really want to do that.” Luke Bryan on outlaw country music.
If you don’t get Waylon or Willie or Cash I really don’t have a ton of respect for you. These Outlaws gave you an opportunity to be a Country Artist but you have no clue how that statement is true and that’s the most unfortunate part brah
October 19, 2023 @ 9:43 pm
I’ve been a huge LB fan for years. Always VIP tickets, and it was always so worth it!! LB’s concerts could always be counted on for the best of the best nights. Long story short, I was diagnosed w a serious illness and my entire life changed. I wasn’t able to attend concerts for about 3-4 years. In October of last year, my best friend treated me to girls weekend which included awesome seats at the LB concert. The show was not the same, and I was a bit disappointed. You know it’s not a good sign when during one of the first songs he sighs deeply and exhales while walking across the stage between lines. It was kinda like “let’s get thru this.” His energy, his animation, his enjoyment, was all flat. It felt like he was going thru all the motions instead of entertaining us. His voice was not the same, and it was obvious that he was preserving his voice. My friend and I who have always been very loyal LB fans felt like we wouldn’t pay a lot of money for good seats for one of his concerts again. We felt like his good times were up. To be fair, he has lived a grueling schedule for the past decade+. I don’t even think it’s even humanly possible to be involved in all the projects he has going at the same time and keep his mental and physical stamina. So I’m thankful for the good years he gave us, and I’m not saying they are over. I just think right now it is not humanly possible to excel at all the things he’s currently involved in. Something has to give. So, PLAY IT AGAIN, LUKE!!
October 19, 2023 @ 10:27 pm
So let’s put this in perspective. He’s making millions each show, which honestly doesn’t sound like decline, and you’re a person who hides behind a keyboard and criticizes others thinking your opinion is relevant????????♂️
October 19, 2023 @ 10:39 pm
I often wonder if the Luke and Aldean types ever hear Tyler Childers and just become humiliated by their body of work by comparison. I know I would be.
October 20, 2023 @ 2:36 am
The first time I heard Luke Bryan – driving across New England on holiday in 2010 – I honestly thought it was a joke. That would turn out to be his best song.
October 20, 2023 @ 5:58 am
Luke Bryan was partly instrumental in helping Brent Cobb get off the ground many years ago. LB needs to adapt, but I also believe he’s a guy who got caught up in the Nashville cyclone, and has yet to figure out a way to get out. “Being put out to pasture” may be the best thing to happen to him. He’ll turn 50 very soon, and the airplay will dry up and the tickets won’t sell quite as good. Hopefully then he can team back up with Brent Cobb, collaborate on some good songs, maybe even get Dave Cobb to produce an album, and boom, he’s reinvented himself as a real country singer who has gotten back to his south Georgia roots.
October 20, 2023 @ 7:24 am
When I was a boy and very young man (late 60’s to early 70’s),there was a big left-handed pitcher named Danny Coombs.Perhaps he’d have been a Country singer today.
October 20, 2023 @ 7:32 am
Country Boy,my great-great-nephew will be five Nov.30 (he’s just starting school here in Windsor,Ont.,Can.,across the river from Detroit,Mich.,where my mother was born in 1917) and I’m sure this year he’s already written more intelligent lyrics than those found in most Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean songs. (He’s black,as am I,so he CERTAINLY wouldn’t have written something like “Try That In A Small Town.” Then again,Windsor has nearly 230,000 people;it’s Canada’s 17th-largest city.)
October 20, 2023 @ 11:41 am
The impact of social makes it hard to trust the objectivity of reviews – regardless of whether they’re positive or negative. Positive may be more about getting a retweet from the artist or their fans. Negative may be more about getting retweets from that artist’s haters, as well as “hate engagement” from their fans.
In this case, I think it’s very fair to criticize Luke Bryan and I think most of what the writer says here is probably accurate. However, lines like “It’s also worth noting Combs and Bryan (but not Wallen) have a more grounded, emotional approach to making music” scream “I want trendy Internet types to like me.” Luke Combs is less hated by woke journalist types/fans than Morgan Wallen, but there’s no real validity to saying he’s more emotionally grounded. Morgan does steer way more aggressively into pop than Luke, but his Don’t Think Jesus, Thought You Should Know, and Dying Man are as honest and meaningful as anything Luke has released. And Luke has yet to release a straight-up country song that’s as good as something like Devil Don’t Know.
So I do think it’s fair to question whether this writer is pandering to a certain Twitter demographic with his writing. The random note praising Hailey Whitters (another Internet darling, albeit a deserving one) doesn’t undermine that hypothesis.
October 20, 2023 @ 1:01 pm
One thing that has always stupefied me about some of the comments is that some people equating Bryan’s niceness to his talent. Every since his frat boy act appeared I thought he was a nice man- married, raising his siblings children, etc. But his talent is limited, and all the charm and goodness in the world can’t make him a better singer or a deeper songwriter. How he has lasted this long as am aging frat boy is beyond me. Dustin Lynch should be scared. It seems to me that the difference between today’s country stars and yesterday was that yesterday’s stars seemed to accept age, and what that meant song wise. Luke Bryan can’t believe he can continue singing about beer and trucks and cute girls until he is 65. If he had been smarter he would have build his career with songs that last past the age of 20. Now he looks like the old guy at the bar remembering the ” glory days”. That’s a pity because he has lots of material to pick from: how to be a father, how to make a marriage last, how to age with some grace.
October 20, 2023 @ 6:43 pm
I’m #1 fan of Luke Bryan Mow and always. BEST Country Artist Singer you Luke, you are amazing and you are my idol Luke, and we us your fans we thank you so very much for all of your perfection hard work that you do and for bringing your amazing music to us your fans that we love . Your music is uplifting and positive vibes And this is why we love you Luke Bryan❤️
October 22, 2023 @ 12:45 pm
“Rain Is A Good Thing” is the only Luke Bryan song I’ve listened to from start to finish. Maybe the dumbest song I’ve ever heard. A freaking 8th grader could’ve written it.
It’s that stupid and infantile. I can’t be friends with someone who actually considers that good music. How stupid does one have to be to think, “Yeah, man! Corn *does* make whiskey!”
So insulting to the intelligence.