Luke Bryan Announces 2018 Tour, Introduces Music Video for ‘Light It Up’

Bryan enlisted the help of Minnesota Timberwolves player Jimmy Butler to star in the video for "Light It Up."

Written by Kelly Brickey
Luke Bryan Announces 2018 Tour, Introduces Music Video for ‘Light It Up’
Luke Bryan; Photo credit: Andrew Wendowski/Sounds Like Nashville

Luke Bryan keeps lighting up the end of his year and carrying that fire into 2018 with the release of a brand new music video and the announcement of his nationwide tour next year.

The hip-shaking country singer recently sent his track, “Light It Up,” to country radio for fans to only go crazy over, so he decided to deliver a storytelling video to complement the longing lyrics by enlisting the efforts of NBA player Jimmy Butler.

As Bryan revealed during his time on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, he caught wind of Butler’s love for country music and invited him to team up for a treatment in which Butler would be desperately awaiting one little message from the girl of his dreams. Butler obliged happily, and the two got down to business from there.

“First time I met Jimmy [Butler], we were backstage at an awards show and here comes this 6 [feet] 8 [inches] basketball player. He’s a huge fan of country music and comes out to a lot of shows. With ‘Light It Up,’ that whole deal, we got him to do the video,” Bryan explained. “We called him, and I was like, ‘He agreed to do it? Really? Oh my God, how are we gonna pay him?’ He’s used to big boy salaries.”

Just as the song depicts, Butler can’t stop thinking about his dream girl despite all the distractions surrounding him. From fangirls throwing themselves at him to driving the cold streets in the dark of night, the basketball player still goes back to his love and hopes she’ll reach out to him sooner rather than later.

While at the daytime talk show, Bryan also told the audience he’d be hitting the road on the What Makes You Country Tour in 2018, with dates lined up starting early in February. Just in time to add some of his new songs off the album with the same name to the setlist, Bryan will travel to cities throughout the year into fall with openers Kip Moore and The Cadillac Three.

The first leg of Bryan’s tour will kick off in Springfield, Missouri, on February 16. Fans can find more tickets and details about the 2018 What Makes Your Country Tour on his official website.

2018 “What Makes You Country Tour” first leg:
2-16 Springfield, MO JQH Arena
2-17 Evansville, IN Ford Center
2-18 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center
2-22 State College, PA Bryce Jordan Center
2-23 Atlantic City, NJ Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall
2-24 Charlottesville, VA John Paul Jones Arena