Luke Bryan shared how he knew Mind Of A Country Boy was the perfect title for his eighth studio record.
Bryan released the 14-track album on September 27, 2024. the album includes the title track, “Love You, Miss You, Mean It,” “But I Got A Beer In My Hand,” “Country On,” “Southern and Slow” and more.
“These are songs that really speak what’s on my mind (and reflect) where I’m at, so I feel like we nailed it with the title and we nailed it with the tour. We named the tour ‘Mind Of A Country Boy,’” Bryan said in an interview with iHeartCountry. “I always think the fans kind of like to have a glimpse into their favorite country singers’ brains, and mine’s kind of spooky,” he added with a smile.
Throughout the interview, Bryan also spoke about his live shows (including pulling a few fans up on stage to sing with him), judging American Idol, which celebrities he asks for restaurant recommendations and more.
“It’s just a reflection of where I’m at in my life right now,” Bryan told iHeartCountry on the 17th ACM Honors red carpet in Nashville, Tennessee, where he was honored 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. Bryan said at the ACM Honors 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.”