Luke Bryan Steps Up To Headliner Status For First Major Tour

After opening concert tours for superstar artists including Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts and Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan is finally stepping up to headliner status with plans to launch his first major tour, the Dirt Road Diaries tour, next year.

The 20-city first leg of the tour kicks off Jan. 17, 2013 in Evansville, Ind., and is scheduled to wrap March 23 in Charlottesville, Va. Opening the tour will be the duos Thompson Square and Florida Georgia Line.

“I have dreamed about this day for a very long time,” Bryan says in a press release announcing the tour. “We are having the best time putting together all the bells and whistles for the tour. I have spent a lot of time out on tours with some really great artists and each night we have tried to learn from them. I couldn’t be more excited about this!”

The Leesburg, Ga., native is currently on his fourth annual “Farm Tour,” with eight shows scheduled through several southern states, including five in Georgia, through the end of this week. When the tour wraps on October 13, a portion of the proceeds from the concerts will have created 20 scholarships in its four-year run for students from farming families in the communities the tour has played.