Luke Bryan Stays Fan Friendly

One of the things that sets country singers apart from artists in other musical genres is the way they treat fans like family. Luke Bryan is a relatively new artist, yet he has understood that philosophy from the beginning of his career.

"Obviously fans are the beginning and end for any artist," Luke tells The Boot. "The minute your fans embrace you and accept you, you begin this ride of being in music and having a career doing something you love. You get to go be a kid and live out your dreams by performing music for fans who come out to your shows.

"It's an honor to have these fans and to watch them spend their hard-earned money to come to my shows and buy my records," continues the ACM Top New Artist winner. "It's a truly amazing experience to be where I'm at right now."

Luke follows in the footsteps of country artists who have gone before him, folks like Garth Brooks, Barbara Mandrell and Loretta Lynn, who were known for signing autographs until the last person had left the building.

"I think certainly after every show I headline, I will be available to the fans," Luke says. "When I'm headlining a show, I don't walk off stage. I'll walk to the front of the stage and sign hats and shirts and tickets for 15 to 30 minutes, until everyone has everything signed."

Additionally, Luke gives fans an opportunity to come backstage after the show. "When the show opens, fans can text to a number we flash up on the screen, and then we do a meet-and-greet with 60 to 80 people every night. It's something I love doing, and I would say that's probably more fans than most artists bring backstage after a show."

Luke doesn't just sign autographs inside the venue where he plays. "If there are people out by the bus, I'll come off the bus and sign autographs, too. I always want to be accessible. I always tell my fans if I ever get on the bus and don't come off, it's because I'm under the weather or I'm really tired."

The singer explains that as a fan himself, he understands the importance of getting face time with a favorite celebrity. "If a fan wants to meet me, that opportunity is always there. That's the way you have to be, whether you're making ten thousand [dollars] or a million a show. I try to be that way; I can't say I'm the best, but I'm in the top percentage."

Luke says one of the ways he keeps that percentage high is by staying in touch through social networking sites. "I'm on Twitter a lot more, and if someone writes and says they enjoyed a show, I'll take time to say thank you. As a fan, if I had one of my favorite artists thank me for coming to a show, I'd think that was a pretty neat thing."

Fans will have multiple opportunities to meet Luke this spring and summer as he opens for Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride and Sugarland, as well as headlines some shows of his own. He has two dates with Martina, May 1 and 2, in Duluth, Ga. and Columbia, S. C., respectively, then travels to Davenport, Iowa on May 6 to open for Miranda.