Country superstar Luke Bryan said there was nowhere else he'd rather begin his “Kick the Dust Up Tour” than Grand Forks.
For more than 90 minutes, Bryan played through a setlist full of hits that have made him the reigning CMA and ACM "Entertainer of the Year."
Bryan opened his set with "Kick the Dust Up," entering the arena by being raised from a platform under his circular stage.
He followed with crowd favorite "All My Friends Say."
Wearing a ball cap, T-shirt and black jeans, Bryan's set included plenty of his No. 1 hits, such as "Play It Again," "Rain is a Good Thing" and "Drink A BeerRoller Coaster" among others.
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An early highlight of the evening involved Bryan inviting the two supporting acts, Dustin Lynch and Randy Houser, on stage for a rendition of Maroon Five's "Sugar." The song was performed with help from an app on Bryan's cellphone and tequila shots the three artists took before the song.
Bryan followed that with "Crash My Party," included most of the crowd singing along with him.during which most of the arena sang along with him.
Though Friday's show was the first show of Bryan's new tour, his setlist remained largely unchanged from his previous tour, which concluded the night before. Bryan closed the main set with "I Don't Want This Night To End" before coming back on stage for a two-song encore of "That's My Kind of Night" and "Country Girl (Shake It For Me)."
Lynch kicked off the night's festivities with a rousing seven-song set that included his highest-charting single, "Cowboys and Angels," and a cover of Drake's "Hold On, We're Going Home."
Houser followed by playing 10 songs for the Alerus Center crowd, opening with a rocking version of "Boots On." Houser also led the crowd in singalongs with his song "How Country Feels" and a Garth Brooks cover of "Friends in Low Places," which sent the country music fans into a frenzy.
Although attendance information was not available at the time of the show, the Alerus Center expected a near sellout. The end stage configuration used for Friday's night's concert could seat about 18,000 people, said Lance Johnson, marketing manager for the Alerus, and the official attendance was expected to be around that.
