Blake Shelton wanted his new tour to have the fun, laid-back feel of his early days on the road playing clubs. With a bar that runs the entire length of the stage and thrust featuring 100 barstools and a host of bartenders, the first dozen dates have had fans singing and dancing and celebrating country music. It’s safe to say Shelton has accomplished his mission! 

“For two hours, Shelton made that arena feel like a wild country bar, where just about anything could happen and he was the bartender, slinging out music instead of shots,” said the Louisville Courier-Journal after his show there last Thursday (3/9). Calling him a “true entertainer” in the headline, the review went on to say, “For one night only Blake Shelton opened the largest honky tonk in the state of Kentucky.”

Saturday night’s show brought a similar review from the Indianapolis Star, which noted, “Shelton's return to Indianapolis brought heart and catchy tunes. The audience ate up everything he had and seemed to go home full. His mission to celebrate country music through ‘the biggest honky tonk in the state of Indiana’ was achieved.”

Shelton’s “Honky Tonk” is a feast of country music with openers Jackson Dean, whose debut single “Don’t Come Lookin’” recently went to No. 1, and singer-songwriter Carly Peace, who is celebrating a recent GRAMMY Award win as well as CMA and ACM Awards for Female Vocalist of the Year. Shelton’s two-hour set runs the gamut of his career with songs from his 2001 No. 1 debut single “Austin,” to his multi-Platinum, award-winning smash “God’s Country.” 

“This throwback-themed concert tour… served as a reminder that the fun, wisecracking-but-tender coach we see on television is the same fella country music audiences still love seeing onstage,” said the Minneapolis Star Tribune of his recent show in the Minneapolis-St Paul area.  

While there are only two weekends left on the tour, Shelton will always keep the Honky Tonk spirit alive!