Jason Aldean surprised Luke Bryan with a performance of his sixth chart-topping hit, “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye,” at Bryan’s 30 No.1s celebration earlier this week in Nashville.
“You know I love a good party, so I couldn’t miss it,” Aldean said as he took the stage at Brooklyn Bowl Nashville.
“Honored To Be Here”
He went on to reflect on his friendship with Bryan.
“I’m obviously honored to be here. I’ve been along I feel like for all 30 of these No. 1s with you and I’ll never forget Luke came to my house [in Florida] one day and he just finished the Tailgates & Tanlines album and wanted to play me some cuts on it,” Aldean shared. “We just sat there and listened to it and I just… didn’t know what was going to happen, but I just knew he had a lot of hits on the record and just a really great album.”
Aldean explained that when he got the call to perform one of Bryan’s chart-topping hits, he immediately knew he wanted to sing “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye.”
“I’m here for you, buddy and this is my attempt at a Luke Bryan song.”
Jason Aldean made the song his own as Bryan and his wife, Caroline watched on from the crowd.
“I love you buddy! Congratulations man, [30 No. 1 hits] that’s a big ass deal,” Aldean added before leaving the stage.
Following the event, Jason Aldean took to social media to commemorate his surprise appearance and to further congratulate Bryan.
“Congrats to my brother @lukebryan on his 30 number 1’s. Glad I got to be there to help ya celebrate buddy, 🤜🏼🤛🏼” Aldean wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of the former tourmates.
Longtime Friends
Luke Bryan recently showcased his support for Jason Aldean as he celebrated his first-ever Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 with “Try That In A Small Town.”
Bryan and Aldean have been friends since early on in their careers and released a collaboration, titled “The Only Way I Know,” which also features Eric Church. In 2018, they joined forces with Darius Rucker and Charles Kelley on “Straight To Hell.”
Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan; Photo Courtesy Getty Images for ACM Awards
The Georgia natives toured together on the Wide Open Tour in 2010 and the Night Train Tour in 2013. They have also played several festivals together, including Luke Bryan’s Crash My Playa.
The pair are also business partners. Together, they co-own a Nashville steakhouse called E3 Chophouse and also a hunting company called Buck Commander.
“There’s a bond there that I think is hard to describe,” Aldean previously told Rolling Stone of his friendship with Bryan. “We hunt together, own a company, and are looking at doing some other stuff too. It’s been a cool friendship.”
30 No.1 Celebration
The event, which was hosted by Storme Warren, was in celebration of Luke Bryan’s milestone 30 No. 1 hits. His journey to 30 No. 1 hits spans over a decade and starts with his first-ever No. 1 hit “Do I” in December 2009 and continues through his 30th chart-topper in December 2022 with “Country On.”
The country superstar marked the accomplishment with a star-studded celebration at Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville on Tuesday evening (Sept. 12), which also featured surprise tribute performances from Dierks Bentley, Shenandoah’s Marty Raybon and Lady A (sans Charles Kelley).
After several touching surprise tributes, Luke Bryan took to the stage to graciously thank those who have supported his career and helped him achieve the success that he rightfully earned.
Bryan also took a moment to reminisce on the mind-blowing success he’s earned since moving to Music City 22 years ago.
Cindy Mabe, Luke Bryan, Kerri Edwards; Photo by Alan Poizner
“I think when you’re so focused in the trenches of it all, it’s days like this where your career flashes in front of your eyes,” Bryan told Country Now and other media outlets in a state of disbelief. “It’s pretty surreal to think about all the people that have been involved in the mix to make this all happen. When I moved to Nashville, I moved for all the right reasons because I loved country music and I loved being onstage. From the second I got here, it felt like I’d finally found the place for me and I never looked back. To have dreams of hopefully writing No. 1s and performing No. 1s and being an artist to present day, you look at that and it’s kind of hard to wrap your head around.”
He concluded by humbly acknowledging that he never anticipated reaching the milestone of 30 No. 1 hits. Bryan admitted that he initially set his sights on achieving just eight to ten successful songs, at most.