Tens of thousands of people are on cloud nine right now after enjoying a concert by country singer and songwriter Luke Bryan in Atwater Thursday night.
The five-time “Entertainer of the Year” award winner performed the first of two back-to-back shows in the central valley, as part of his 2025 “Farm Tour”.
Bryan will be performing in Clovis Friday night.
Crews were already working Thursday, preparing the grounds in the Harlan Ranch area east of Clovis.
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They’ve already set up tents, lights, and plenty of porta-potties.
Bryan has also reportedly pledged some of the proceeds from his shows to area Future Farmers of America programs– including one at Atwater High School.
Before the concert, we caught up with Atwater High’s Agriculture Instructor, Dave Gossman, who explained why and how they connected with the star.
“We’re here at the beginning of the Luke Bryan concert here in Atwater. We have about 80 high school FFA students from Atwater and Merced area helping out and volunteering their time and and for doing so, Luke Bryan has provided each of them with a complimentary invite to the concert, so they’re very, very excited,” Gossman related.
How did the FFA group get that hook-up with Luke Bryan?
“Well, that’s a great question,” Gossman replied. “We’re not sure, but we know that Luke Bryan has a lot of high school and post-high school agriculture experience as a family raised him on a farm. So, I guess through the connections it worked its way to to us with the opportunity for the students to get involved and help support this concert that’s really providing a once-in-a -ilfetime opportunity for the entire community.”
When did the kids first learn about this?
“We got a heads up on it about two months ago,” answered Gossman, ” but to be honest, I didn’t hear anything until about a week ago, so about a week ago, we went full drive and coordinated with the other high school act programs in our area, invited them. Those that were able, that didn’t have all their kids going to the concert already joined in and so we’ve got nearly, you know, 100 students out here today and getting ready for a great show.”
A show for which Gossman explained many of the students were particularly excited.
“I know they’re excited, but for many this will be the first experience of a concert of this magnitude, so if they think they’re excited now, they’ve got a whole world waiting for them in just a few hours.”
And, Gossman says, that’s not the only thing they’re excited about.
“We heard that they were going to do a contribution to the FAA, which you know is very generous of them. We were excited just for them to give the students an opportunity to attend the concert, but if we do get any kind of donation, we’re definitely going to put it towards the program. The FAA, as you know, is the largest student organization in the nation, and it supports leadership, academics, personal growth and career exploration, so we’re excited to invest and let Luke, Bryan and his team see a positive return on that investment.
Future Farmers of America students from Merced, El Capitan, and Stone Ridge Christian also pitched in tonight.
