Luke Bryan talks love, acceptance and his growing depth before Tampa stop

Brittany Volk, Tampa Bay Times staff writer

It's been awhile since Luke Bryan crashed our party. The country music superstar who has racked up awards hasn't blessed us 'round these parts since 2015.

"We played many multiple nights at the (MidFlorida Credit Union) Amphitheatre. So we decided to take a year or two off and come back in a big way, and play the football stadium," Bryan said.

Saturday marks the 41-year-old's biggest show here, at Raymond James Stadium, and he's playing 10 more stadiums during his 40-plus-stop tour. And he's sure earned it. With 20 No. 1 hits, the opportunity to sing the National Anthem at this year's Super Bowl, and a judging gig on ABC's American Idol reboot, Bryan is ready to show Tampa a good time.

Because that's what he's all about. He bonded with bros over brewskies, and made all the country girls shake it.

But the family man and father of two, who also cares for the children of his late sister and brother-in-law, has an emotional side, too. His new song Most People Are Good, his second single off new album What Makes You Country, reminds fans to see the beauty in humanity.

Before his concert, we talked with the country hunk, who was chilling at his beach house in the Florida panhandle.

You're the king of Bro Country, but your newer stuff leans a little more wholesome Dad Country. You and now more artists, like your tour mate Sam Hunt, are proving categories don't matter to fans. Why do you think that is?

As music and society evolve, the ways we are able to access entertainment is in the palm of our hands. Country music is in the mix with all forms of music. … I listened to all forms, and I think that's showing up in modern country. I think a lot of boundaries are going away. ... I get up there each night and sing songs, and I see my fans smiling. That's what I always said I would do, however you want to classify it. As I grow older, my music will evolve, too. That doesn't mean I won't do the party songs. I don't think Jimmy Buffett chugs margaritas like he used to in his 30s, but that doesn't mean he's going to stop doing Margaritaville. The thing for me is just to try to go with my gut on my music. And at the end of my career, hopefully I'll have a diverse well-rounded body of work.

Your song Most People Are Good has a nod to LGBTQ acceptance: "I believe you love who you love / Ain't nothing you should ever be ashamed of." Is it important to open up to that audience?

That line in that song certainly insinuates that. But in my opinion, it insinuates many levels of acceptance of relationships. The beauty of that line in that song is that it can be taken however you want to. With me, I don't separate any groups from enjoying themselves at a concert of mine. I don't get wrapped up in the side of judging people. My opinion is, don't hurt children and be a good person. I want you to come to my show and have the best time of your life.

That song definitely has a message. Drink a Beer got me a little teary. You're the party dude, but you've got some depth, too.

I think if you're a one-dimensional artist who just puts out love songs, then you're going to hit your ceiling as an artist. I want to be the party guy, the guy that guys want to drink beers with, and that the girls think he's good lookin'. It would be silly for me to try to be just one-dimensional. Certainly I've talked about trucks and hunting, but then I've talked about loss and death, and humanity with Most People Are Good. My current single Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset is obviously about the summer, but also about nostalgic young love. When you get into your career, and been blessed with 20-plus No. 1s, you've had to be diverse or you wouldn't have gotten to this point. You have to keep surprising people.

What are your favorite sad songs?

I've always got songs. When you look at a song like When He Stopped Loving Her Today (by George Jones) ... everybody loves a good sad song that you can put on late at night, maybe have a drink of whiskey. But like I said, people don't want to hear three hours of that. I mean, how many times can you watch Marley & Me?

Contact Brittany Volk at bvolk@tampabay.com. Follow @bevolk.