Florida Georgia Line Recall Trying to 'Crush' Luke Bryan Early in Their Career

Long before Florida Georgia Line was a record-breaking act, they were just trying to get anyone to listen to their music. So when Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley were invited to open for Luke Bryan on Bryan's Dirt Road Diaries Tour in 2013, the guys were determined to out-perform anyone that night, including Bryan.

"I remember being out on Luke Bryan tour," Hubbard recalled to his record label. "We were the first of three, and for that 30 minutes we had, we were gonna crush Luke Bryan. That was our goal. It was all friendly; we're friends. But at that point, for our 30 minutes, in our minds we were the best act in the world.

"I think you gotta have that mentality, no matter where you're at, or how many people you're playing to, or what the case is," he added. "I'm gonna tell all the acts on our tour, 'Hey, for that 30 minutes you're out there, you better believe that you're the best artist that's ever been on this stage.'"

Those opening acts for Florida Georgia Line include Dan + Shay, Morgan Wallen, Canaan Smith and HARDY, who are joining them on their Can't Say I Ain't Country Tour. The guys, who hadn't been on the road since their Smooth Tour in 2017, were eager to return to performing live music for their fans.

"I think, in general, there's a new excitement, not only among BK and myself, but our band, our crew," Hubbard acknowledged prior to the start of their tour. "Everybody's itching to get back out on the road. So, we've played a few festivals and it's just been really cool, and I think we've just kind of made us get that much more excited about the kick off of the Can't Say It Ain't Country Tour. Just to have all of our buses, all of our people, the whole deal kind of rolling down the road, we're really excited. It's gonna be an awesome summer."

That awesome summer will include Hubbard taking a bit of break to welcome their son, Luca, due next month.

"I know we have an extra bunk on the bus for another baby so we'll just roll with it and see what happens," Hubbard said. "We've done it once and it's only been a year, so I think we're kind of in our groove a little bit. Hopefully it'll make it easier than waiting too long to have another one. We're still in diapers with one, so hopefully it'll just transition right into the next one."

Find Can't Say I Ain't Country Tour dates at FloridaGeorgiaLine.com.

Photo Credit: Getty Images/Tim Mosenfelder