Country artist Luke Bryan brings tour to Jacksonville, DeSantis makes special appearance

Carter Mudgett, Editor in Chief

Country music superstar Luke Bryan brought his Raised Up Right Tour to the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena Friday night with opening acts Mitchell Tenpenny and Riley Green. 

Luke Bryan performs on stage
Luke Bryan performed for a packed Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022. (Justin Nedrow)

Bryan opened the show with a special guest, bringing out current Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis onstage, who threw merch to the crowd and encouraged them to vote on Nov. 8. DeSantis also talked about the impact of Hurricane Ian that left many Floridians without their homes last month. 

Phones capture DeSantis and Luke Bryan on stage
Luke Bryan brought Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a special guest to his tour in Jacksonville on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022. (Justin Nedrow)

All the money earned from his shows in Florida will be donated to the Florida Disaster Fund to help victims of the hurricane, Bryan said. 

On Saturday, the Florida Gators will face off with the Georgia Bulldogs in Jacksonville and Bryan had a special gift for DeSantis, a Brock Bowers University of Georgia football jersey. Bryan, a Georgia Bulldogs fan, spent most of the night taunting the Florida crowd. 

Luke Bryan laughs as he hands DeSantis a red jersey
Luke Bryan laughs as he hands Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis a University of Georgia football jersey during his concert in Jacksonville on Friday, Oct. 28, 2022. (Justin Nedrow)

With a setlist of over 21 songs, Bryan showed the crowd the reason why he is one of the most popular country artists right now as they sang all the songs he performed word for word. Click through Spinnaker Photographer Justin Nedrow’s gallery of the night below:

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