Delivering a killer performance in his home country.
On all fronts, 2026 has been a hell of a year for Luke Combs. Back in March, he dropped his “I’m back” project – the high-energy The Way I Am album, and it was pretty clear that he was, in fact, back. The album would debut at #1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart, selling 101,000 equivalent units in its first week. Additionally, it debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, The Way I Am marking his seventh Top 10 record on the all-genre chart
Safe to say, the fans have responded enthusiastically to that record over the past four and have packed stadiums along his tour every chance they’ve gotten, with the country superstar selling out stadiums across the world on his My Kinda Saturday Night Tour.
Since kicking off back in March, Combs has broken a staggering four different attendance records both here in the U.S. and across the pond, setting Ohio Stadium’s (97,367), Lambeau Field’s (51,981), and Neyland Stadium’s (92,045) record for highest-attended concerts. Additionally, the “Hurricane” singer would set the record for the largest country music crowd ever in the Nordic region, with 60,826 fans at his July 4th show in Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Over the weekend, Combs continued his trip overseas with back-to-back nights at the historic Slane Castle in Slane, Ireland, which has hosted legendary American acts such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Guns N’ Roses, U2 and more since beginning to host concerts in 1981.
Once again, the North Carolina native would make history, not only becoming the first-ever country artist to headline the Irish venue, but also becoming the first artist in its 45-year history to headline it back-to-back nights.
Unsurprisingly, Combs had some surprises up his sleeve, especially on night one. After delivering a plethora of past smash hits, including the likes of “Hurricane,” “She Got the Best of Me,” “Beautiful Crazy,” “When It Rains It Pours” and more, the 36-year-old singer/songwriter would bring out none other than Irish native, Dermott Kennedy, for a performance of “Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma” during the encore.
In case you’re unfamiliar with Kennedy, he’s known for past hits such as the certified-gold “Power Over Me,” “Outnumbered” and “Better Days.” Lately, he’s actually been a frequent flier in country music over the past few years, opening up for a plethora of Zach Bryan shows overseas from 2023-2025.
Notably, he teamed up with the “Something in the Orange” singer during his show at BST Hyde Park in London last year for a performance of Bryan’s hit single with The War and Treaty, “Hey Driver.” Here, Bryan would call the Irish singer/songwriter one of the best voices in music.
“Hey, so we got one of the best openers in the entire world, his name is Dermot Kennedy. and he’s one of the kindest men I’ve ever met, he’s got one of the best f****** voices in music, and I think he’s here to sing with us if you guys don’t mind. This is a song called ‘Hey Driver,’ and he sings it ten times better than I ever could.”
Here on “Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma,” Bryan’s words ring true. After Combs brought the energy, screaming to the crowd that he needed “everything that Ireland’s got for the next three-and-a-half minutes,” Kennedy showed off his Irish grit, taking over the second verse and chorus before coming together with Combs for the final chorus.
If you’re a fan of both Combs and Kennedy, this is nothing short of a must-watch.
Watch here:
My Kinda Saturday Night Tour Dates
July 25 Scottish Gas Murrayfield – Edinburgh, UK
July 31 Wembley Stadium – London, UK
August 1 Wembley Stadium – London, UK
