On Saturday, October 14, Luke Bryan performed at St. Paul Minnesota’s Xcel Energy Center. Later that night, The St. Paul Pioneer Press ran a less-than-flattering review of Bryan’s performance. Early Tuesday morning, the award-winning country singer took to X (formerly Twitter) to give the critic a piece of his mind.
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Ross Raihala, the pop music critic for the publication, tweeted the review early Sunday morning. Tuesday morning, Bryan left his thoughts on the review. “Wow, I’ve never received one positive review from y’all’s publication since I’ve been to the Twin Cities area in my whole career,” his tweet began. “The trend continues. The sold-out crowd had a great time.”
Taken aback by Bryan’s haughty response, Raihala decided to fact-check the singer. “Is it true that I’ve never given him a positive review? I don’t know! So I looked into it,” the critic’s response read, in part. “Here are previous Luke Bryan concert reviews.” Then, he proceeded to link four reviews of Bryan’s previous Twin Cities appearances.
One could not honestly call those reviews negative. While it’s clear that Raihala has a distaste for bro-country, he didn’t let that get in the way of praising Bryan’s performances. In a review of the “Country Girl Shake It for Me” singer’s debut arena headlining show in the Twin Cities, the critic said, “If Bryan can keep this up, he’ll be in the running … to become country’s next stadium-sized superstar.”
In his other reviews, Raihala praised Bryan’s energetic stage presence and likability. For instance, in a review of Bryan’s 2018 headlining set at Target Field, he praised the star for his charisma. “Just a few songs into his latest Twin Cities concert, his appeal once again comes into focus. He oozes with not just charisma, but approachable charisma.”
In his most recent review, Raihala debunked Bryan’s claim of a sold-out crowd before the country star made it. “Bryan returned to the much smaller Xcel Energy Center and drew a crowd roughly half the size of his 2018 Target Field show, with pockets of empty seats in the 200 section,” he observed.
The review was also the first to criticize Bryan’s performance as well as his bro-country catalog. “The massive stage, clearly made for stadiums, often felt empty as Bryan was far less animated and physical than in previous shows,” Raihalla wrote. “At times, he was aimlessly wandering on it, whereas in years past he sprinted across it.”
In short, the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Raihalla have given Bryan plenty of love in the past.
Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
