Luke Bryan has released his brand-new, highly anticipated ninth studio album, Signs. Out today (Friday, Sept. 18) via MCA, the collection follows the five-time Entertainer of the Year’s 2024 full-length release, Mind Of A Country Boy.
Featuring eleven standout tracks, Signs highlights Bryan’s knack for blending his trademark themes — good times, heartfelt stories, and rural roots — with adventurous musical exploration.
He co-wrote two tracks on the album, “Crooked Rows Of Corn” and “Fish Hunt Golf Drink,” and also partnered with Nashville’s premier songwriters to deliver an album that feels both comfortably familiar and brand-new.
Bryan gave fans an early preview of Signs, with the release of “Country And She Knows It,” “Word On The Street,” “Fish Hunt Golf Drink,” and “Made It A Memory,” as well as his high-energy collaboration on “Finders Keepers” with Luke Combs, a song that wasn’t even supposed to be part of the record.
The 50-year-old Leesburg, Georgia native tells Music Mayhem and other media outlets that “Finders Keepers,” penned by Jimi Bell, Beau Bailey, and Sam Ellis, arrived at just the right moment.
“For the first time, I went into the studio, and I did not have ‘Finders Keepers’ on the sheet to record,” Bryan explained during a round-robin interview ahead of the album’s release. “I had another song [ready], [and] I kept telling my producer and my manager, ‘Gosh, I just feel like this album needs one more real…’ I was feeling that in that moment, and it was my last recording session that we kind of had figured out for this album.”
With Bryan feeling like he couldn’t shake the feeling that the project needed something more, his manager played him “Finders Keepers” right before lunch. “We listened five or six times, and I said, ‘Heck with it. Let’s just roll the dice,’” Bryan recalled, adding that three hours after hearing the track for the first time, he was already recording it.
“Most of the time, this doesn’t work,” he admits with a laugh. “So we recorded it on the fly; I didn’t even really live with it. The band loved it in the studio, and then I went to do the vocals and just, from day one, felt like this song had all the magic. I could go through every little thing and dissect what I love about it, but I love everything about it.”
On recruiting Combs for the track, he shared: “I didn’t really have any featured artists on this [album], so I just said, ‘Hey, I’m going to swing for the fences. I’m going to send this to Luke Combs.’ I did the whole spiel: ‘Hey Luke, this is Luke. No pressure. I know you’re busy… Your name’s Luke, my name’s Luke. We’ve got to be a duo at some point, so let’s try it out on this one.’”
According to Bryan, Combs hit him right back, saying, “I love it. I’m in.’ I’m like, ‘Oh my God, it happened.’ So I’m really honored to have him on it. I love what the song does, and I really feel like it’s going to be one of the biggest songs of the year. I just hope and pray that, and I’m glad Luke’s on it.”
Adding to the project’s collection of anthems is Bryan’s current single, “Country And She Knows It,” an upbeat celebration of women who proudly embrace their country roots, from their Southern accents down to their denim jeans. The track was written by Josh Miller, Parker Welling, and Matt Dragstrem.
“I think the first thing I heard was ‘big ole summer fun,’” Bryan says, recalling the first time he heard the demo. “You hear about boys and their pride about being country a lot of the time… but it was really fun hearing an uplifting song for girls, letting them be proud of being country.”
For an artist who has logged over 30 No. 1 country singles, Bryan has perfected the formula that keeps his fans coming back.
“I’ve hopefully gotten to this number of number-one songs by having fun moments, having serious moments, and appealing to different audiences,” he acknowledges. “I just felt like this would be a great song for the summer, and I felt like a lot of people would really respond to it.”
If “Country And She Knows It” captures Bryan at his most carefree, “Made It A Memory” reveals a softer side. Written by Matt Alderman, the acoustic-driven track is a reflective ode to finding love unexpectedly on the same old night: “I lived a thousand times / and made it a memory,” as the lyrics go.
Bryan says the romantic track forced him to adjust his vocal approach in the booth.
“Anytime I’m in a vocal booth, singing, or even talking to y’all, I’m always the loudest person in the room,” he shared. “With that song, I really had to be a lot more tender with it and not overpower the track.”
“If you can get girls to go, ‘Oh, that’s sweet. That’s so sweet,’ that’s a big deal when it comes to a love song,” he added.
That ability to balance the lighthearted with the heartfelt has defined Bryan’s appeal throughout his career, and Signs continues that tradition. The title track showcases him having a little fun with heartbreak rather than sulking over a failed relationship. As he puts it: “If you’re going to brag over a breakup, this is the way to do it.”
With its playful concept and pop-leaning production, Signs also pushes Bryan into slightly unfamiliar territory.
“I think throughout my career, when you listen to my albums, there have always been songs that kind of go out to a different little island,” he says. “And I think sonically, this does that.”
It’s one of several moments on the record where Bryan steps outside expectations.
“Crooked Rows Of Corn,” co-written with Josh Thompson, Chase McGill, and Matt Dragstrem, feels much closer to home. The song immediately grabbed Bryan when his collaborators brought the concept into the room.
“When they played it for me, I jumped up, started hooping and hollering, and high-fiving them because they nailed the idea,” he recalls. From there, Bryan began weaving in his own personal memories. “We were vibing on the whole crop-duster line, and my dad saying, ‘What the hell?’ I knew this song was tailor-made to say everything I wanted.”
Describing the track’s blend of classic country influences, Bryan added: “If ‘Good Directions’ and ‘Big Green Tractor’ had a child, it would be ‘Crooked Rows Of Corn.’”
Another standout on the album is “Killer,” which tells a story entirely from the perspective of a firearm. Written by Davis Corley, Mark Addison Chandler, and Nate Kenyon, Bryan admits he didn’t immediately grasp the concept upon first listen, but was quickly blown away.
“I’m like, ‘What is this? I don’t know what’s going on,’ and then, ‘Oh my God, I know exactly what’s going on now—the singer is the gun,’” he recalls. “When I heard that, the song morphed into kind of an out-of-body experience.”
“There are songs you hear in your life that you remember the first time hearing because of how they consumed you, and this song did that to me,” he continued. “I think I lay awake two nights in a row thinking about this song—is it right for me? Is it the thing to do? When a song shuts my life down and makes me focus on it 24/7, I know it’s special. I’m so glad I recorded it.”
Then there’s “Woods,” a track that taps directly into Bryan’s connection to rural life as an avid outdoorsman. Bryan, who grew up as the son of a peanut farmer, often tests new music on the hands who work his farm.
“We’ll sit out there by the fire or at the truck and have a beer, and I’ll play them a demo,” he says. “It’s fun having those moments, and ‘Woods’ certainly did that. I think the hardworking, rural guys will appreciate this one and gravitate toward it.”
That connection to home and faith carries into “Praying By The Rules,” which serves as the bookend to the project. Written by Blake Bollinger, Nate Kenyon, and LoCash’s Chris Lucas and Preston Brust, the song reflects the quieter moments Bryan finds away from the spotlight.
“When I’m off the road, I spend a lot of time on my farms, either fishing, hunting, or just turkey hunting and walking,” he says. “So many times, that’s my chance to connect with the higher power, God.”
With nearly 20 years in the industry under his belt, Bryan has developed a confidence that allows him to trust his instincts without leaning on comfortable formulas.
“I don’t want to have a safety blanket around me where I’m only trying to pick radio candy,” he explains. “I just want songs that really speak to where I’m at.”
“Vocally, I’m not even the same human being,” he adds, acknowledging his evolution as a vocalist. “I’m probably twice as dynamic as I was on the first album.”
Still, one thing hasn’t changed: Bryan always listens to his fans.
“If I think I’ve written the greatest song in the history of Nashville and I play it for a hundred people and nobody reacts, then it just became not the greatest song in Nashville,” he says. “So I focus on what people react to.”
It’s a philosophy that has helped Bryan build a legendary career. He has earned 32 No. 1 singles (17 of which he co-wrote), accumulated 58 total weeks at the top of the charts, and collected more than 50 major music awards, including five Entertainer of the Year honors.
Bryan is currently on his Word On The Street Tour, which launched with back-to-back sold-out shows in Gilford, New Hampshire. He is also continuing his long-running Farm Tour, a tradition he began in 2009 that brings live music to rural communities while raising scholarship money for students from farming families.
