Summerfest Saturday
Twenty One Pilots headline American Family Insurance Amphitheater.
“It’s not COVID, I promise,” Luke Bryan yelled deep into his Summerfest set at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater Thursday.
He had to say something.
The country superstar, one of the most frequent Summerfest amphitheater headliners of the past decade, brought some much desired familiarity to the Milwaukee music festival’s first full night back since the COVID-19 pandemic, singing about partying (“My Kind of Night”), country living (“Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day”), and getting down (“Knockin’ Boots”).
But Bryan, typically bursting with energy, was a hair more subdued — even though the fans (fewer than usual on a pretty empty Summerfest night, but still filling out much of the amphitheater’s lower bowl) were having a blast like in the before-times.
Yet as the night progressed, a cough crept in here and there, until it became frequent and unavoidable during “Drink a Beer.” (The bugs flying around the stage — one of them slid into Bryan’s throat, he confessed Thursday, couldn’t have helped.)
That’s when Bryan disclosed that he had been struggling with a cold for a couple of weeks, but it was just a cold. (He did have COVID-19 in April.) And from there, that cough continued to linger, popping up during practically each of the subsequent five songs. During “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset,” he leaned pretty heavily on the crowd to sing along, and for a flash here or there, looked weathered.
It was odd to see such an unflappable guy like Bryan, the two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year, practically the country music embodiment of carefree, struggle like he did Thursday.
But as those entertainer of the year trophies on his mantel signify, Bryan’s also the kind of performer who’s determined to please the crowd, no matter the circumstances.
So even though he visibly struggled, he stuck it out, and ended “Play It Again” with an impressive, a cappella finish.
He also peppered his set with his customary hip shakes, purrs and WWE poses. In a sweet gesture, he sat next to the show’s ASL interpreter to perform directly to the fans in front of her for “Down to One.” And he handed one lucky lady in the pit a margarita filled to the brim during “One Margarita,” which briefly segued into Kenny Chesney’s “When the Sun Comes Out.”
He also weighed in on the Aaron Rodgers brouhaha with the Packers.
“I’m so glad Aaron Rodgers decided to stick around,” the Georgia native said sarcastically.
That prompted the crowd to lead a boisterous “Bucks in six” chant, but basketball evidently isn’t Bryan’s sport.
“I have no idea what the hell you all are saying,” he confessed.