Courtesy of Resorts World
Luke Bryan performs during the opening night of his residency at Resorts World Las Vegas on February 11, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for Luke Bryan: Vegas @ Resorts World Theatre)
Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022 | 2 a.m.
Resorts World Las Vegas, with less than eight months under its belt as the newest venue on the Las Vegas Strip, is becoming known for the eye-popping shows put on by the artists headlining residencies in its 5,000-seat Resorts World Theatre.
First there was country superstar Carrie Underwood, whose “Reflection” residency finale included a water wall feature that left audiences wowed. Then the colorful, oversized sets on multiple Grammy winner Katy Perry’s “Play” residency were otherworldly.
Suffice to say that country superstar Luke Bryan had some tough acts to follow with his “Luke Bryan: Vegas” residency, which opened Friday at the venue.
So what did the Academy of Country Music’s reigning Entertainer of the Year do? He took it over the top. Literally.
For his opening-night encore, Bryan and members of his band took to an elevated catwalk that extended the length of the Resorts World Theater, over the audience in the showroom’s orchestra seats, to give fans on the mezzanine level front-row views of him while he sang and danced to “Country Girl (Shake It for Me).” As if that weren’t enough, the catwalk rose to 45 feet above the crowd where he was face-to-face with fans in the balcony seats, where he performed his finale, “I Don’t Want This Night to End.”
It was the cap to an entertaining evening provided by the “American Idol” judge whose career began as a songwriter before he took to the stage in 2007.
Bryan, in a news conference the day before the residency’s debut, talked about being enthralled as a boy with Elvis Presley’s “Live in Las Vegas” box set and the standard Presley set as a Las Vegas headliner. Now, as a performer, Bryan said, he tries always to “channel my inner Elvis.”
Resorts World Theatre is an ACM nominee
Resorts World Theatre, in addition to hosting sold-out concerts by resident artists Carrie Underwood, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan, is up for an Academy of County Music award next month.
The 5,000-seat theater, which opened in October, is one of five nominees for the ACM's "Casino of the Year — Theater" award, which is presented to an outstanding theater or showroom within a casino. It is the only Las Vegas venue to be nominated for an ACM award this year.
In addition to Resorts World, the other nominees are: Agua Caliente, Rancho Mirage, Calif.; Choctaw Casino, Durant, Okla.; Deadwood Mountain Grand, Deadwood, S.D.; and Soaring Eagle Casino, Mt. Pleasant, Mich.
The 57th Academy of County Music Awards show is set for March 7 at Allegiant Stadium.
Living up to such a standard might have weighed on Bryan early in his show Friday night. Although he admitted before the opening to having some anxiety about how the show would be received, he was fully energized for the first six songs of the night. Still, something seemed just slightly off kilter — even as he performed his monster hits “One Margarita” and “Knockin’ Boots.” But if there was something weighing on Bryan, it all changed during his performance of his 2021 hit “Waves.”
As he sang from atop a giant cube in the middle of the stage — one of nearly two dozen such cubes that took up much of the stage floor — a spectacular scene began to play out all around Bryan. Each of the cubes slowly lifted and lowered during the song, and video scenes of undulating water and waves seemed to fill the cubes and the stage’s backdrop.
After rehearsing the song, Bryan said in his news conference, “Take me out of the mix. I felt like I was in a fantasy land, and it was really exciting.”
Bryan, who says he relies on reading the audience’s reaction — something he developed early in his career in playing at clubs and honky-tonks — must have sensed the audience wowing over “Waves.” For whatever reason, he settled in for the rest of the show and performed with the confidence of not only a seasoned performer, but of a Strip headliner.
The night included him sauntering from one end of the stage to another, going into the audience to hand out beers, taking a couple of shots, ostensibly of tequila.
He joked throughout the night about his lack of luck at the blackjack tables, at one point swearing that “I haven’t hit a double-down in eight days!” then asking audience members to help him recoup his losses by buying “some of my merch” at the stands outside the theater.
With 28 No. 1 hits to his credit, Bryan told the audience he couldn’t fit all of them into a 90-minute concert. But he did launch into a heart-warming medley of three of them, “Drunk on You” from 2011, 2013’s “Crash My Party” and his 2020 love song “Down to One.”
A bit later, he traded his guitar for the piano, playing “Strip It Down” and “Do I,” before revving up again with “Drink a Beer.” The night ended, of course, with his show-stopping catwalk performance.
“It’s no lie when they say Las Vegas is the Entertainment Capital of the World, and you’d better be ready to entertain when you play there,” Bryan told media members a day before the show’s premiere.
On this night, it was mission accomplished.
Setlist
“That’s My Kind of Night”
“All My Friends Say”
“One Margarita”
“Knockin’ Boots”
“Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset”
“Roller Coaster”
“Waves”
“What Makes You Country”
“Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day”
“Kick the Dust Up”
“Rain is a Good Thing”
Medley, “Drunk on You” / “Crash My Party” / “Down to One”
“Someone Else Calling You Baby”
“Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye”
“Strip it Down”
“Do I”
“Drink a Beer”
“Move”
“Play It Again”
“Country Girl (Shake It for Me)”
“I Don’t Want This Night to End”
“Luke Bryan: Vegas” continues at 8 p.m. today and Friday through Sunday this week; Feb. 23, 25 and 26; June 15, 17, 18, 22, 24 and 25; Aug. 31; and Sept. 3 and 4 at Resorts World Theatre. For tickets, go to axs.com/lukeinvegas.
