(Posted July 3, 2018)
By Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor
Northwest Madison County is still the first stop on Luke Bryan’s annual Farm Tour. The country music star will perform a concert on Sept. 27 on the Ayars Family Farm in Irwin.
Originally, the concert was set to take place at Spring Fork Farms, also in Irwin, but according to Aaron Boerger, one of the farm’s owners, those plans were scrapped due to a conflict with harvest timing.
John Ayars said he and his family are happy to host the concert, which is expected to draw 20,000 people.
“I think this is absolutely wonderful. I can’t think of anything more exciting,” he said. “I think the guy is a great entertainer. He has good philosophies and has good people around him.”
The Ayars family is setting aside 200 acres of their 1,100-acre farm for the concert set-up and parking. The field sits at the corner of Rosedale and Irwin roads. Bryan’s touring company will bring in multiple semi-trailers of equipment and a large crew.
“This is a major project for a rural area, but they’ve been doing it for 10 years,” Ayars said.
This is the 10th anniversary of the Luke Bryan Farm Tour. Scheduled during his months-long stadium tour, the farm tour consists of six shows in six states over the course of a week and a half. All take place on farms. In addition to the Madison County stop, this year’s tour also includes shows in Illinois, Iowa, Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia.
Tickets for the Madison County show went on sale to the general public on June 28. They are $51 in advance or $60 at the gate. Parking is $5 in advance or $20 the day of the concert. Once the show sells out, no tickets will be sold at the gate. Parking opens at 2 p.m., doors open at 5 p.m., and the show starts at 6 p.m.
Bryan’s latest album is titled “What Makes You Country.” During his career, he has had 20 chart-topping songs and sold millions of albums and singles around the world.
