Luke Bryan is bringing country to the city

By Glenn Gamboa

Newsday

NEW YORK

In a year full of firsts, Luke Bryan is ready for another one.

Bryan announced plans this week to become the first country star to headline Barclays Center. The Brooklyn stop of his “That’s My Kind of Night Tour” will be Sept. 14. Tickets go on sale Friday through Ticketmaster.

“It’s just amazing,” said Bryan, calling from a tour stop in Charlotte, N.C. “Brooklyn is such an amazing area, and it’s incredible — the thought of my country self in the heart of Brooklyn.”

The tour also will come to Heinz Field in Pittsburgh on June 21 and Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls on Aug. 21 and 22.

Barclays Center chief executive Brett Yormark said Bryan’s show would launch the arena’s new Brooklyn Country concert series, which reflects the borough’s interest in country music. “We’re very excited about it,” said Yormark, who recently traveled to Nashville to meet with country agents and managers. “Our goal for our concert business is to continue to expand the volume and variety of our offering.”

Bryan said he was extra nervous in January, when he headlined Madison Square Garden for the first time. He expects the feeling will be the same when he comes to Brooklyn. “There were a lot of heightened expectations,” he said. “But we just had a blast.”

Expectations will only keep growing after Bryan’s remarkable 2014. He set a record for holding the top two spots on Billboard’s country chart with his song “Play It Again” at No. 1 and his appearance on the Florida Georgia Line song “That’s How We Roll” at No. 2. He recently was named Country’s Sexiest Man by People magazine.