Luke Combs is getting his priorities straight.
Since breaking out onto the scene with his 2016 hit “Hurricane,” Luke Combs has proved time and time again that he is one of country music’s elite and is well on his way to becoming a legend. With 19 solo number one hits under his belt (20 if you count his “Cold Beer Calling My Name” with Jameson Rodgers that also went number one), Luke Combs is in a league of his own when it comes to producing hit after hit.
He’s not just a stellar songwriter, though. He’s also kept his nose to the grindstone, spending a large portion of his early career on the road as much as possible. This, too, has paid off for the North Carolina native, as he now sells out stadiums worldwide.
However, as Combs now has two young boys, with his oldest, Tex (3), starting to pick up on when he hears his dad on the radio, he’s beginning to reprioritize what’s important in his career. One of the most significant shifts for Combs this year is how he structured his touring schedule. This year, the focus is on big festivals and keeping the schedule very limited.
Combs headlined Stagecoach the other weekend and will be the first-ever country music closing act at Chicago’s Lollapalooza later this summer. In a conversation with People Magazine, Combs noted that had he not spent so much time on the road early in his career, he would not have had the luxury of cutting back for his family.
“I feel like country music for a long time has been, ‘Let’s tour every year as hard as we can tour’ while it’s hot. But I’m now like, ‘Why can’t you tour really hard, build a really great fan base, care about them, support them, give them exclusive things, give them great experiences and let them understand that you care about them,’ and then if you do want some time for you, you can tell them, ‘I can’t tour this year.’
I wanted to get to the point where I could do that, and it not be career suicide.”
Combs said this choice to cut back was not an easy one, but it was more important for him to be a present father now that his kids are at the age where they can pick up when he’s gone for long stints of time
“I want my kids to know that my job is not more important than they are.”
Luke Combs has never made fans question the importance of his family, though. Combs often spins his family into his lyrics, either talking about his children or the love he has for his wife, Nicole. Last year, Combs dedicated a whole project to his children, releasing Fathers & Sons. Combs admits that it’s not his most commercially successful album, but regardless of how it charted, it was a project that brought many fans to tears.
Of course, Luke has a new album in the works, and he recently told MeatEater’s Steve Rinella that he is sitting on 40-50 songs that he will have to pare down to which ones make the cut for this next record.
“I’m at the point now, I’m about to go in the studio for the first session on cutting my next record. So I’m trying to cut probably, anywhere from like, in a worst case scenario four or best case six… I would say right now, songs that are in serious contention to make the record, I mean like forty to fifty? You got to whittle it down…
Then you’re getting into like, it’s like heavyweight fights because all the songs you really like all of them.”
While he is sitting on a pile of songs, he feels confident about every contender. In fact, Combs feels so good about this collection of tunes that he’s betting it’s some of the best music he’s ever made, calling his upcoming project “the best record I’ve ever made.”
Luke Combs is a master at his craft, so no matter what songs make the record, I am sure they will be country music gold. Before you go, fire up two songs that Combs debuted at his Nashville bar, Category 10.
@whiskeyriff @Luke Combs #whiskeyriff ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff
@shelby.m.rogers @Luke Combs #whiskeyriff ♬ original sound – Shelby McCarthy
