Country megastar Luke Bryan is wrapping up his first Las Vegas concert residency on January 6 at Resorts World Theatre, but first, he’s bringing his friends and family to the Strip to ring in 2024 with a series of shows there this week.

“Somehow I survived in Las Vegas, didn’t lose too much money gambling and got my golf game a little better,” says the 47-year-old entertainer and two-time CMA Artist of the Year. “The main thing for me was meeting up with friends, going to great restaurants, playing some great golf and trying to hold my own in the entertainment capital of the world, and I’ve been really proud to be able to do so.”

Indeed, Bryan’s show quickly built a reputation as one of the rowdiest music parties on the Strip. We caught up with him for a quick conversation before he wraps up 2023 and his fun 48-show Vegas run.

You first launched your residency at Resorts World in February 2022, so you just missed New Year’s Eve in Las Vegas. Is this the first time you’ve done NYE shows in Vegas?

I did a one-off several years ago at MGM, but I didn’t do New Year’s stuff last year. It gets a little complicated for me because it’s my wife’s birthday, so I’ve got to get the blessing. But we’re going to be out there with a bunch of friends and family, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.

Are you planning anything special for your New Year’s concerts, or for the remaining residency shows after that?

We always want to change things up a little bit here and there, and I have that acoustic moment where I spend a bit of time on the piano and the guitar, and I want to make the most of that. The residency show is so automated, with the effects and screens and lifts, so for stuff like that, you have to stick to the gameplan. It gets really tricky to change the show up, but there’s always little nuances and differences. Obviously, we’re going to have a fun vibe for New Year’s.

That should be pretty easy, considering you’ve been turning this show into a big country music party since day one.

That’s one thing that’s been there throughout my career. I always wanted people to have fun at my shows and to know how much I love to have fun onstage, and certainly the Vegas show is an extension of that. I want people to leave going, “Man, he looked like he was having the most fun in the room.” That’s the main thing I want people to get, that I love my job and I love what I’m doing.

We’ve been able to ask this question to your fellow Resorts World resident headliners Katy Perry and Carrie Underwood, too, so now it’s your turn: Has producing and performing the Las Vegas show changed the way you might approach your live performances and tours in the future?

I think the biggest thing I’ve learned in Vegas is how to stop the show, maybe tell some jokes, how to have a little comedic aspect of your show. That’s a lot easier to do in a theater-type environment. People always reference the Vegas [show] with me at the piano, or me with a guitar, that face-to-face stuff that’s in the show, and that’s when the fans get to speak up and get vocal about what they love the most, and I’m actually able to talk to them. So I think that will make me incorporate a little more of that time into my show, because I’ve always tried to do what the fans really respond to. I’m not up there for my glory, I’m doing it to give them a great show and put smiles on everybody’s faces.

You stayed busy touring in 2023 but also put a bit of new music out. What does writing and recording look like for you in the immediate future?

I’m going into the studio periodically and finding songs and writing songs. I love to sit down and write, and I love to find the best songs the national songwriters have to offer. I’ve got quite a bit of stuff recorded for an album already but I still want to go in and cut some more tracks here and there, and keep putting singles out and hopefully move the needle. As long as I can still have the amount of success I want and enjoy it, and feel like I’m progressing with my music, I’ll keep doing it. We’re in full swing building a new album and will be staying in the studio.

You also just announced you’re co-headlining the Golden Sky Festival next fall in Sacramento. What else is on your agenda for 2024?

Yeah, that’s sort of a new festival and I’ll be doing some more festivals. I haven’t announced the tour but fans can expect me to be on the road a lot. I love my time onstage and just being out there connecting with fans.

LUKE BRYAN December 29-31, January 3, 5-6, 8 p.m., prices vary. Resorts World Theatre, axs.com.