Luke Bryan and Sam Hunt Bring the Party To Crash My Playa
Luke Bryan and Sam Hunt capped off Crash My Playa night two with high energy performances.
A few clouds and sprinkles didn’t deter fans from attending a poolside concert from Craig Campbell Saturday (Jan. 23) afternoon at the Barceló resort in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Campbell was in good spirits throughout his hour set and admitted that he wanted to join country fans in the pool.
“I tried so hard to see if it could be me and a guitar in the water but it just didn’t work out,” he joked.
His hour set included several spirited covers like Brooks & Dunn’s “Play Something Country,” Hank Williams Jr.’s “Family Tradition,” Jimmy Buffet’s “Margaritaville,” Travis Tritt’s “Here’s A Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)” and Garth Brooks’ “Friends In Low Places,” which had the pool audience in a sing along.
Campbell’s two daughters even got the spotlight when he called them to the microphone and they sang Selena Gomez’s “The Heart Wants What It Wants” and Meghan Trainer’s “Like I’m Gonna Lose You.”
“You never know who’s gonna show up and steal the show from you,” he said after his young daughter Preslee captivated the poolside audience.
In between Campbell’s set and the evening concert on the beach, Sounds Like Nashville caught up with Sam Hunt after his soundcheck where he admitted he was excited to leave the snow in Nashville to spend a few days in Mexico for Crash My Playa.
“I know it’s relatively new and fairly experimental,” he said of Luke Bryan’s Crash My Playa festival. “It creates an environment that makes it really easy to enjoy music. When you’re right beside the beach and in this kind of setting it just enhances the experience when you’re at concert.”
While he said he doesn’t change his set depending on the location he’s in or festival he’s performing at, Hunt did say he’ll be bringing the same energy to each of his gigs throughout the weekend.
“I expect most everybody to be in a party mood so that changes the dynamic a little bit,” he explained. “We’ll approach it with the same mentality that people are coming to the show with.”
And that’s exactly what he did throughout his hour set later that night. Taking the stage at 7:45 p.m., Hunt warmed up the crowd with a high intensity performance that saw him running around the stage and the catwalk, frequently signing autographs for fans and jumping off the stage to bring his “House Party” into the crowd. His energy was contagious as he segued effortlessly into hit after hit.
“Y’all ready to Crash This Playa?” he asked two songs into his set. “We left about half a foot of snow in Nashville to get here. We almost didn’t make it. There’s no other place I’d rather be than with y’all.”
Hunt introduced himself to the country world with his acoustic mixtape Between the Pines two years ago and his set often had the vibe of a live mixtape as he’d begin songs with hip-hop tracks like Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks” before transitioning into his own songs, some of which included impressive rapid fire lyrics that had the crowd screaming in approval. Before playing the fitting “Saturday Night,” he thanked fans that helped spread the word about his mixtape years ago.
The Grammy-nominated artist showcased his songwriting talents throughout his set with songs like the Keith Urban recorded “Cop Car,” which he admitted was a true story of getting into some trouble with the cops after making his own fun while living in Alabama. Another song that Billy Currington cut, “We Are Tonight,” Hunt said was the song that helped get him to Nashville.
Standing alone center stage with his acoustic guitar midway through his set, Hunt slowed the night down as he began to play the soulful “Make You Miss Me,” which he said was about “all you girls who are hard to impress.” Whether it was high energy hit singles “Leave the Night On” and “House Party” or the slowed more emotional songs like “Take Your Time,” where he sat on the edge of the stage while he held a fan’s hand and sang to her, and current single “Break Up In a Small Town,” Hunt showcased his undeniable talent.
Shortly after 9:30 the man of the hour, Crash My Playa host himself Luke Bryan, took the stage with set opener “Kick the Dust Up.” Dressed in tight blue jeans, a white t-shirt, Crash My Playa sweatshirt and baseball cap, he kept the energy up with his first single “All My Friends Say” before the poignant “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye.”
“What’s up Crash My Playa 2016?” he asked the crowd. “Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for coming down to Mexico and partying with us.”
Throughout his 90-minute set, Bryan played all his hits as well as a few covers and even got assistance from surprise guest Dustin Lynch during his performance. As he sat down at the keyboard and debated what to play, he finally settled on Maroon 5’s “Sugar.” Having trouble reaching some of the high notes, Bryan kept looking to stage right laughing. Soon enough, Lynch came out to join him on the song and take a swig of tequila with Bryan. The two had an easier time covering Alabama’s “Mountain Music.”
The sexy “Strip It Down” followed suit and soon after Bryan got up from the keyboard to walk the catwalk to sing “Crash My Party” with fans. A verse in and he forgot the lyrics, blaming it on the tequila. “I start drinking that damn tequila and I don’t remember s–t,” he joked.
While Bryan no doubt kept the party going last night, he also was able to slow it down with the emotional “Drink A Beer,” which had the crowd singing as he stood center stage with an acoustic guitar. It’s not a Luke Bryan concert without some hip shaking, which he did plenty of. He fittingly closed his set with “Country Girl (Shake It For Me),” as he told the crowd, “There ain’t nothing like seeing some country girls shaking on the beach.”
As he threw beers out to the audience at the close of his set, he gave a little advice. “Y’all only got two more nights. Make sure you go see your liver doctor when you get back home.”
Crash My Playa runs through Jan. 26. We’ll be providing daily recaps and interviews with the artists from Mexico so stay tuned!
