Luke Combs Talks About His Tampa Full Circle Moment
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00:00Ladies and gentlemen, on the show right now is a man who has dominated country music for the last several years.
00:05This dude has been performing since he was a kid.
00:07He even did a vocal performance at the world-famous Carnegie Hall in New York City.
00:11He was a bouncer and a performer at the same bar in Boone, North Carolina, while attending Appalachian State University.
00:17Just celebrated his 33rd birthday. He's going to be here at Ray J July 8th.
00:21Just announced that baby number two is on the way from Asheville, North Carolina.
00:25You're reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year, Luke Albert Combs.
00:30Let's go!
00:32What's up?
00:34Not too much, man. Thank you for coming on with us. We appreciate you.
00:37Album coming out this Friday called Getting Old. You're also a new pops now.
00:43And you just announced that you're having another child.
00:46Did that album title just feel appropriate for you since you kind of feel like there's some big life changes happening?
00:51Yeah, I guess in a lot of ways it does feel appropriate. You know what I mean?
00:54Absolutely.
00:55I mean, it's crazy, you know? I mean, a lot's happened in the last couple of years and a lot of coming-of-age stuff, I guess, you know?
01:02So, Luke, is Tex, is he approaching his first or second birthday?
01:06First. He's going to be 10 months here pretty soon.
01:09Okay, so what do we got going on? What's the big—I mean, we've got a plan. This is his first one. He only gets one shot of this.
01:15I mean, I would imagine he's probably going to be on the road with Dad probably for his first birthday, I would imagine.
01:20Make sure a smash cake is available because, you know, you're going to always need pictures of that.
01:25But you've got to make a mess, you know?
01:27Oh, yeah. It's a must.
01:28Yeah, of course.
01:30What is something that you have taught him? Maybe it's a word. Maybe it's an activity. Just kind of a proud dad moment for you.
01:38Oh, God. He's just like—he didn't cry a bunch, you know, which is real nice. That's a huge benefit.
01:44So, I'll take credit for that. I'll take credit for that.
01:48He doesn't cry much. Okay.
01:50Talking to Luke Combs right now, a new album is out on Friday. Luke, you know, you've written so many songs. You've had a lot of success with them. I know you're very humble about that.
01:58Is it hard for you to kind of—I don't want to say reinvent, because that's not really the thing. I think you're kind of one of those guys that kind of wants to keep doing what you're good at, and that's making great music.
02:08But do you dip into different pools of songwriters to collaborate with, or do you get in a different state of mind when you approach a new album?
02:16It's like, all right, well, here we go again. How do you kind of get out of the gates?
02:19Yeah, I think, you know, I think you just have to—and I do, you know, I do want to, you know, continue to kind of, you know, I want the music to, you know, always be getting better, you know.
02:30So, that is definitely a goal. But I think it just, you know, it does, you know, you do fold in a new writer every once in a while with somebody that you've written with for a long time.
02:40Or, you know, there's a million different things you can do. I mean, you know, getting in the studio and really being hands-on with that stuff, I think, is beneficial as well, you know.
02:50So, there's a lot of things we've done. I think this album is probably the start of that in a lot of ways.
02:56I really wanted this to kind of be the next step. So, I'm excited to see what people think about it.
03:00We're excited, too, man. Absolutely. Let's talk about playing stadiums now.
03:04I mean, I know you've played a few already, including AT&T Stadium, Jerry World, which was cool.
03:10I think you even got to ride on Jerry's plane, right?
03:13I did. Yeah, I did. Pretty crazy stuff.
03:16I tell you what, man, even if you're not a Cowboys fan, you're like,
03:19well, this is still Jerry Jones' plane that we're on right now.
03:21Yeah, it was pretty thick. I'm not going to lie.
03:24That is awesome. But is there a challenge for you with stadiums?
03:28I talked to Kenny Chesney about this. Here's a name drop. Sorry.
03:30He was talking about he tries to figure out how he's going to connect with a person that's farthest away from the stage,
03:36and he actually goes and sits in that seat.
03:37So, that's kind of how he connects with that person.
03:40But are there challenges for you when it comes to doing these big stadiums?
03:43Yeah, I think it is, man.
03:45It presents, you know, a bunch of different things that any other venue can't really present.
03:50You know, obviously, you know, the weather becomes something that you battle that's out of your control, of course.
03:56But, and you do want to connect with that person that's, you know, in the back row.
04:00But I think for me, it's really just, like, wanting it to feel intimate somehow, even though it's so really making it about, you know,
04:08how do you continue to make it about the music, you know, and not about, you know, fire and all kinds of crazy stuff like that.
04:15You know, it's like just making the music stand out, I think, is the most important thing for me.
04:20I love that.
04:20You know, I saw some videos and some things, some cool things you did for some fans and some kids who had struggled with different illnesses
04:28and flew a family out there, they had to go on stage with you, you got to meet with his family.
04:33When you get to do things like that, obviously, it's inspiring to those people.
04:38What does that feel like to you when you get to kind of make a difference in somebody's life who's looking up to you going,
04:43oh, my God, this is Luke Combs in front of me?
04:45Yeah, I mean, I think it's, you know, it's awesome, you know, to get to be able to do something great for somebody, you know.
04:52I think it's something that I don't take lightly, you know.
04:55But, yeah, I mean, it's incredible, you know, to be able to have that kind of effect on somebody
05:01and be able to, you know, give them an experience like that.
05:05It's just really unique, you know, something that's really cool.
05:07Luke, your first album, This One's For You, came out June 2nd, 2017.
05:12You celebrated with the people right here in Tampa, Florida.
05:15You were opening up for Brantley Gilbert.
05:17You were signing CDs right down in front.
05:20Now, you're coming back this year, six years later, and playing Raymond James Stadium.
05:27What a full-circle moment, man.
05:29Yeah, it's definitely been crazy, you know.
05:31It's been so fast in a lot of ways, and it feels like it's been 100 lifetimes in a lot of other ways,
05:38and it's just, it's real different, you know.
05:40It's crazy.
05:41So, it's pretty cool you're playing Ray J.
05:43I mean, a lot of famous people have played there.
05:45I mean, Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift.
05:47I mean, Tom Brady played there.
05:49Yeah, man.
05:50Hey, you know, I mean, he might throw in a couple more touchdowns than I have.
05:56Just a couple.
05:57A few back yard touchdowns, but he's got a few on me for sure.
06:00Talking to Luke Coase right now, I'm going to let you go, brother,
06:02but I just want to talk to you about Appalachian State and the Hail Mary that they had against Troy.
06:06I have to think that you were on college game day that day, which was unbelievable.
06:11I have to think that you lost your mind that day.
06:14I did, yes, because I actually flew back to Green Bay after game day, so I didn't even watch the game from the stadium.
06:22So, I flew back to Green Bay, and we had a show that night, and I was taking a nap on the bus, like, at halftime of the game.
06:32And when I woke up, the TV had, like, turned itself off, so I didn't know what was going on.
06:36And when I turned the TV on, that was the only play I saw.
06:40It was, like, live.
06:41Oh, wow, oh, wow.
06:42It was the literal last play of the game, and I watched it in five.
06:46It was, like, absolutely nuts.
06:49Dude, I can only imagine if you were still in Boone when that happened.
06:52That would have been crazy.
06:54It would have been crazy, no doubt.
06:56All right, brother.
06:56Well, listen, I'll let you get back to your family and get back to work and all that good stuff,
06:59but I do appreciate you taking the time to talk to us, Luke.
07:02Congratulations on baby number two and announcing that.
07:04We're excited to see you in July.
07:06We're excited for the album to come out on Friday.
07:08Happy belated birthday to you, my friend, and have a great day, man.
07:11Absolutely.
07:12Thank you all so much.
07:13Appreciate it.
07:13All right, brother.
07:14Later, Luke.
07:14See you all.
07:15Thanks.