Luke Combs has been making the rounds doing tons of press in the wake of his new album release for Growin’ Up.
And in a recent interview with the Independent, he spoke a little bit about how people viewed country music and the stigmas that were associated with it, especially growing up in the South:
“Being Southern, the joke is always that we talk slow, that kinda thing. Especially when I was growing up, it was a thing to be like, ‘Oh, I listen to everything but country.’
I never quite understood that.”
That idea led to him discussing how politics and Southern culture bled into his career in both good ways and bad, as the relatability and down home attitude has seemingly helped him become the megastar that he is.
But he also touched on the fact that certain people in the industry didn’t take his 2021 single with Billy Strings, “The Great Divide,” quite the way it was intended, which after a series of events and an unearthed 2015 music video, ultimately resulted in Luke apologizing for having a confederate flag sticker on his guitar.
He says he still regrets that, but feels like it’s become harder and harder to even discuss any topic people may have differing opinions on which, I’m sure most of us can agree, can be extremely frustrating:
“Everything is so contentious and heated, and that’s always been super frustrating to me.
I think what makes our country great is people’s ability to have their own opinions and have the ability to disagree.
Right now, everyone is just so hot about everything. And that adds to the tension that was going on.”
Amen to that, Luke.
He added that he knows the sentiment of “The Great Divide,” which was a plea for unity considering the contentious times we’re living in, upset certain people for whatever reason… but he had something to say and wanted people to hear it:
“It definitely upset some folks. But it is what it is. I’ve never been afraid to stand up for what I think is right.”
Luke just released his third career studio album, the aforementioned Growin’ Up, a couple weeks ago, and welcomed a brand new baby boy, Tex, on Father’s Day.
My easy favorite on the new record is his duet with Miranda Lambert on “Outrunnin’ Your Memory”:
