Luke Bryan, Josh Thompson + Lee Brice Pack the House in Kentucky

On Thursday night (October 20), the 2011 CMT Tour, featuring headliner Luke Bryan, hit the E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky. to a packed house of screaming fans. Fans tumbled through the doors for the general admission show, scrambling to the stagefront to claim their place for the night of non-stop entertainment.

CMT's 'Next Superstar' winner Matt Mason took the stage first for a 20-minute acoustic performance, consisting of two original tunes, 'Guns and Guitars' and 'I Run,' as well as covers of Hank Williams Jr.'s 'Family Tradition' and Alabama's 'Dixieland Delight.'

Lee Brice was up next in the lineup, blowing away the fans with his powerful vocals, proving that he could someday be competing in the Male Vocalist of the Year award show categories. Throughout his set, Brice performed his own hits, including 'She Ain't Right' and 'Woman Like You,' as well as the current Eli Young Band Top 5 smash, 'Crazy Girl,' which he co-wrote. The entire arena sang back every word to the song, leaving Brice's emotions running high. He then closed out his show with his career hit, 'Love Like Crazy.'

Josh Thompson was up next with his rowdy, honky-tonk driven performance. The opening tune, 'Blame It on Waylon,' was followed by album track 'You Ain't Seen Country Yet' and his last Top 30 single, 'Won't Be Lonely Long.' When Thompson began to strum his guitar and sing the first few bars to Hank Jr.'s 'Country Boy Can Survive,' the piercing screams in the arena put a smile on the singer's face. He then launched into the anthem 'Way Out Here,' which fans proudly sang back with their fists held high in the air. He finished out his set list with rousing performances of his debut single, 'Beer on the Table,' his new single from his forthcoming sophomore album, 'Comin' Around,' and Billy Joel's 'You May Be Right.'

Bryan capped off the evening with hit after hit, which included 'Country Man,' 'Someone Else Calling You Baby,' 'Do I,' 'Rain Is a Good Thing' and his debut single, 'All My Friends Say.' Bryan mixed things up a bit when he performed his countrified versions of cover tunes 'Enter Sandman' and 'Baby Got Back.' He also performed his latest Top 30 single, 'I Don't Want This Night to End,' as well as his recent chart-topping smash, 'Country Girl (Shake It for Me).'

The 2011 CMT Tour continues on this month with stops in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and Virginia. Click here for a complete list of dates where the tour will be stopping.

Watch Josh Thompson's Road Blog From the 2011 CMT Tour