SHELBY COUNTY, Ky. (WDRB) — Monday was a regular day for Amanda Gajdzik, the calm before Thursday’s storm. The first of six shows on his Farm Tour 2023, Luke Bryan will perform in her backyard at Mulberry Orchard.
Gajdzik heard Bryan performs several shows on farms across America each year and applied to host in 2023.
“They need a certain width and length of a space to make sure for the parking and stage and all of their needs,” she said.
A year ago, Bryan’s team scouted locations and agreed hers would work. So Gajdzik got to work, starting with the changing of a crop field.
“We seeded the 80 acres in grass for them to make sure we had a nice firm base,” she said. “If it did happen to be a rainy day, we could make sure to get everybody in safely and efficiently and back out as well.”
The site was chosen for its capacity to handle large crowds and flat, solid land. Bryan’s farm tour paid for gravel to be brought in to create driveways and to seed the property.
As many as 5,000 cars will be parked in the field along Mulberry Pike. And nearly 40 buses and trailers will soon arrive to set up the staging and food vendors. The school district opted to cancel school Thursday because of an expected influx of tourists, traffic congestions and safety concerns.
“There is a lot of hype,” said Capt. Kyle Tipton with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department. “There’s a lot of excitement, and we’re just enthusiastic to really platform what Shelby County is all about.”
We are one week away from #FarmTour2023! Get your tickets and your boots ready! https://t.co/sVmmpoq8Mb pic.twitter.com/10Wrrc7P3H
— Luke Bryan (@lukebryan) September 7, 2023
The sheriff’s department will use resources from other departments as well as the National Guard to help with traffic and security and to make sure there is no lag in response time for any calls.
“Without any hesitation, I knew with our first responders, our local emergency management and neighboring counties that we would be able to do this,” Tipton said.
Gajdzik said crews will arrive bright and early Thursday for the stage set-up.
“Local city officials, the police department, all EMS services — the amount of planning they have put into it is massive,” she said. “So (I’m) just looking forward to seeing all of that paying off and coming to fruition. Super excited about that.”
Shelby County Emergency Management said upon exiting the venue, people may be directed to go Mulberry Pike to Narrow Gauge Road to Highway 55 to where they will be directed by a sign to either take the bypass or Henry County to I-71. Drivers will then be dismissed onto Mulberry Pike to Bellview Road to Cropper Road to Highway 55. Drivers will also be allowed to travel Bagdad Road to Highway 395 to US 60.
Shelby County Emergency Management also said police will ask local residents to utilize Bagdad Road, Highway 395, Christianburg Road and Flood Road to bypass the event since Bellview Road will be shutdown.
Tour officials said everything will be gone, including the stage, by 3 a.m. Friday. To purchase tickets and learn more about the tour, click here. A portion of all the proceeds will go toward farming programs Bryan supports as a way to highlight the importance of agriculture.
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