Luke Bryan will launch his Las Vegas residency this weekend, and he announced his 30-plus city summer tour last week. He’s anxious to get out on the road — however, he’s also happy to be home. In the first five years of his career, Bryan logged upwards of 200 concerts a year. Thirty cities is a bit of a slowdown for the Georgia native, and it isn’t by accident. His sons are getting older, and he’s trying to figure out how to do it all – please his fans on the road and be home to do dad things with his sons.
“I’m a creature of the road,” Bryan told People. “I think everything I do in life always sets up touring. I always want to have a healthy book of dates out there. As my boys get older, it’s just having a nice balance. I can get out there and have fun with my band and crew, keep everybody working, play the new music, and see how the fans react to it. Being on the road inspires the whole process for me. It makes me wanna write the songs for the next album. The day I kind of hang my boots up and get off the road, I don’t know if I can necessarily do that.”
Retirement was on Bryan’s mind because he had just heard the news of Tom Brady’s intentions to leave football.
“You do this at a high level, and your family and your people have to sacrifice,” Bryan said. “So as my children get older, they need for dad to be even more active. My boys love sports and the outdoors, and they’re really outgoing kids. The love of music and the love of being on the road will always be there. But, I think prioritizing being a dad and a husband is a main thing, too.”
The “Up” singer said there’s a healthy balance between being hungry enough to keep working at a level that keeps him on top of his game, being home with Bo, 13, and Tate, 11, and enjoying everything he’s accomplished.
“I’ve achieved everything I can ever imagine,” Bryan said. “I think a big part of happiness is to be content with that and relish where I’ve been, where I want to go and be graceful about it.”
The proud dad said Bo and Tate are “growing a foot a week” and that Bo has football camps he wants to attend in the summer, which can be tricky when Bryan is on the road.
“There’s certainly been a lot of that stuff through the years, but I think the boys have a good understanding that so many of the amazing things that they get to do in life, it’s all about the sacrifices that me and Caroline have to do.”
However, he said, the thing that makes him the happiest in the world is when someone sends him a great song – or he writes a great song.
“That’s still what fuels me,” Bryan said. “It’s that ability to go in the studio and cut a song that you know is really going to impact people.”