Rockin' the dome

Alice Campbell Havre Daily News [email protected]

Luke Bryan rocked the house then serenaded it and then yee-hawed it up, showing his musical diversity Tuesday night. The country music star played songs he wrote that have been recorded by other artists, originals from his first album and the second one, set to be released Oct. 6, and classics from rock and country artists, during his performance at the Havre Ice dome. He's described his style as "traditional country style and sound, but I think it's also done in a way that's new and fresh and doesn't lay there," and he plays songs that he wrote based on his experiences growing up in Leesburg, Ga. The crowd enjoyed every second of the high-energy performance that Bryan said he's been perfecting since he began performing at age 16. "It's just a blast to get to do that day in and day out," Bryan said in an earlier interview. Earlier this summer Bryan played with Kenny Chesney's tour and said he learned a lot from the experience, but when it comes to comparing the big crowds to the smaller ones, he brings the "same amount of energy and same amount of desire to make the crowd have a great time." Bryan hardly stood still through the performance, interacting with the crowd and even singing "Happy Birthday" to three girls in the audience. "You weren't lying," he told one of them after looking at her driver's license. "It is your birthday." "I've never been good at being standoffish," he said last week, adding that he likes to feel like one of the people in the crowd instead of just the guy on stage. Was "when Luke Bryan gave me a guitar pick." "It was just good entertainment," Ryan Knerr said after the show, to murmurs of agreement from his friends. "I think he put on a hell of a good show," Dana House, vice p re s i d ent o f Bi g Ho u s e Promotions of Great Falls, said about the concert that tested whether or not Havre would be receptive to three to four concerts with stars like Bryan each year. Approximately 600 tickets were sold for the event, out of an available 700, and House said that was "about what I expected." "We'd definitely like to come back," he added, saying that he's working to get more concerts lined up.