Photo: Jim Wright
Luke Bryan offers “a reflection of where I’m at in my life right now,” with his eighth studio album.
Bryan’s Mind Of A Country Boy arrived on Friday (September 27). The record includes “Love You, Miss You, Mean It,” “Country Song Came On,” “But I Got A Beer In My Hand,” “Southern and Slow” and more. Bryan’s signature country vocals appear in a fresh spotlight on the vibrant, anthemic hits like “Country On,” blended with heartfelt ballads that share an impression of the Georgia-born artist’s faith and family life. He said on Friday that Mind Of A Country Boy is a “deeper look into where I am in life as a person, artist, dad, and husband.”
“It’s just a reflection of where I’m at in my life right now,” Bryan told iHeartCountry while catching up on the 17th ACM Honors red carpet last month in Nashville, Tennessee. Bryan was honored that evening with the ACM Lifting Lives Award for his efforts to serve others. “I mean, we put some songs (on Mind Of A Country Boy) that have been hits, you know, with ‘Country On’ and ‘But I Got A Beer In My Hand,’ and obviously with ‘Love You Miss You Mean It.’ Those are songs that people have heard, but I’ve got a lot of other tracks on there that are just reflective of where I’m at in my career and my life, and (I'm) ready for the fans to hear them.
“I think any time I can really branch out there and expand and try new things… I think any time people can go, ‘you know, we didn’t know you could do that after all these years,’ (it’s) a little bit of ‘shock factor’ done the right way,” he said, noting high notes in “Closing Time In California. The American Idol judge said last month that he looked forward to “watching the people incorporate [these songs] in their life and enjoy them, and hopefully they can smile, laugh, cry together. And I can’t wait to see the faces of the fans when I play some of these songs.”
- “Mind Of A Country Boy” (Luke Bryan, Ben Hayslip, Dallas Davidson, Rhett Akins)
- “Love You, Miss You, Mean It” (Ben Hayslip, Jacob Rice, Jordan Minton, Rhett Akins)
- “Country Song Came On” (Ryan Beaver, Dan Alley, Neil Medley)
- “Pair Of Boots” (Bobby Pinson, Taylor Phillips, Tofer Brown, Jaxon Free)
- “But I Got A Beer In My Hand” (Chase McGill, Matt Dragstrem, Geoff Warburton)
- “Kansas” (Chase McGill, Hillary Lindsey, Matt Dragstrem)
- “Country On” (Mark Nesler, David Frasier, Mitch Oglesby, Styles Haury)
- “Fish On The Wall” (Dallas Davidson, Chris Tompkins, Ben Johnson)
- “She’s Still Got It” (Rodney Clawson, Heather Morgan, Will Bundy, Jim McCormick)
- “Closing Time In California” (John Byron, Mark Holman, Hillary Lindsey, Chase McGill)
- “For The Kids” (Luke Bryan, Justin Ebach, Brad Tursi)
- “Southern and Slow” (Matt Dragstrem, Josh Thompson, Chase McGill)
- “I’m On A Tractor” (Neil Thrasher, Lee Thomas Miller)
- “Jesus ‘Bout My Kids” (Jeff Hyde, Tucker Beathard, Ben Stennis, Brad Rempel)
Bryan “finally” made his long-awaited album announcement in early August, saying at the time that it had been “a long time coming.” Mind Of A Country Boy was produced by father-son duo Jeff and Jody Stevens. Bryan previously said he took his time to gather songs for the 14-track album, and believed singles he released years ago that appear on Mind Of A Country Boy will “stand the test of time.”
“I think this album, as I've tried to do with all my albums, just has a little bit of everything,” he continued at the time. “I do some things different vocally on this one that I've not done before. It's about each song having its place and having its meaning. It's trying not to be overly redundant with songs. I think that's why I've been blessed to have a long career and what I feel like this album's going to do.”
Mind Of A Country Boy arrives four years after the five-time Entertainer of the Year released his last full album. Bryan, gearing up for his 10th annual Crash My Playa in 2025, previously released Born Here, Live Here, Die Here, What Makes You Country, Kill The Lights, Crash My Party, Tailgates & Tanlines and his debut album, Doin’ My Thing. Find Bryan’s music on iHeartRadio here.