Country crooner Luke Bryan was crowd pleaser for Panola fans

 

By Emily Williams
An estimated 5,000 country music fans drove the back roads to Macedonia Road and FT Farms Wednesday evening as popular recording artist Luke Bryan brought his Farm Tour to Panola County.
After promoters arranged months ago to use John and Amy Thomas’ land in southwestern Panola as the venue, the Thomases began preparing. Soybeans were cut, wheat was planted and fertilized, cotton bolls were picked and all they awaited was the arrival of Bryan and his crew  late Tuesday.
With the county currently under a burn ban from this fall’s weeks-long drought, Luke Bryan opened the show with his song, “Rain is a Good Thing”
Opening artists were John Langston, Chris Jansen and the Peach Pickers.
Vendors were placed throughout the field for concert goers.
Beer prices were $7 and water was $3, funnel cakes were $7.
Ticket prices online were listed between $64 and $1,776 for meet and greet tickets with parking passes available ranging from $19 to $1,402.
Message boards were placed along the Highway to direct traffic to the site and light towers and personnel were located at every intersection exiting the area.
Behind the scenes Highway Patrol and Panola County Sheriff Deputies worked diligently to keep the peace along with helping with parking, traffic control and assisting concert-goers who had too much to drink find their group they lost.
Bryan sang, “Here’s to the Farmer,” before presenting a $5,000 check to John and Amy Thomas with their son Ford.
Bryan thanked the local farming family after presenting the check and sang, “Southern Gentleman.”
His playlist included “Crash my Party” and “Hunting, Fishing and Loving Everyday,” but it was the tearjerker, “Drink My Beer” that silenced the crowd and brought tears to many eyes.
The song speaks of lost loved ones.
He sang lyrics, “Funny how the good ones go
too soon, but the good Lord knows the reasons why, I guess.
“Sometimes the greater plan
is kinda hard to understand
Right now it don’t make sense, I can’t make it all make sense”
“Everyone has lost someone and has that friend they used to sit and drink a beer with,” Bryan said to the crowd.
Due to Bryan breaking his clavicle at a concert last week, he performed most of the concert in a sling, but took it off to “shake it” during his song, “Move.”
He ended the night with one of his most famous songs, “Shake it for me Country Girl.”
Traffic and fans had already started leaving before the last song.
Local emergency responders and law enforcement agencies worked long hours, helping with traffic, communication and security and with other emergency responder agencies such as MedStat, the Mississippi Department of Transportation, Highway Patrol officers and the Red Hill Fire Department to make it a success without incident.