Luke on the bright side
Country star Luke Combs has taken the States by storm. Now he plans to do the same here
COUNTRY musician Luke Combs is a huge star in his native America and achieving the same in the UK is a “huge goal”.
The 30-year-old from North Carolina will stake his claim next Friday when he headlines C2C: Country to Country – the first of three nights at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow showcasing the best in country music with other headliners Eric Church on the Saturday and Darius Rucker on the Sunday.
Hurricane singer Combs is taking country music by storm. His 2018 debut album, This One’s For You, spent 50 non-consecutive weeks at No1 on the Billboard country albums chart – a record for a male artist – and tying for the longest reign on top of the chart with Shania Twain’s Come On Over from 1997.
This One’s For You was the most-streamed country album of 2019. He released his second studio album What You See is What You Get last year also and it went to No1 in the mainstream Billboard chart.
Luke reveals his plans for UK glory.
Have you been to Scotland before? If so when and for what? Yes, for C2C in 2018. I absolutely loved Scotland. I actually had one of my best, most memorable, days there. It’s really beautiful with great people. I’m really excited to be back.
Glasgow has a huge country music following. Have you heard about that? I didn’t know that. Are there any Glasgow artists I should be listening to?
You’re doing so well in the US – does it matter about breaking in the UK? Hell, yes it does. Definitely a goal of mine. The support of my UK fans has been incredible so far. I’m hoping it continues to grow.
So No1 for 50 weeks. That success must feel great? That was a really cool moment for me, my team and the writers. It was a very special record to create and for it to achieve that accomplishment was really special for all of us.
How hard is it for a country singer to make it? I think if you surround yourself with the right people and team, anything is possible.
What was the inspiration behind your new UK single Refrigerator Door? My mom always had stuff all over the fridge. Like take-out menus, pictures of my family, our dogs and cats, of me on the first day of kindergarten, letters from friends and the whole thing was just covered in stuff. I felt like there was something interesting about the idea so many people have so much stuff on their refrigerator.
How did you get into singing? I wasn’t committed enough to go to school. I was more concerned with drinking and playing rugby and singing. Obviously you can’t drink for a living, so that was off the list and then I quickly realised I couldn’t play rugby for a living either so there was only one choice.”
YOU have become a vegan after losing a bet with your keyboard player Neil Tankersley. How difficult is it to do on the road? Ha ha, well.. It was difficult in the beginning just because it’s something I’ve never done before. But, luckily, my fiancé and I have been looking up recipes and making the best of it.
What are the plans for 2020. Would you like to come back and do your own tour? I am touring the US on my What You See Is What You Get Tour with Ashley McBryde, Drew Parker and Ray Fulcher. I definitely want to come back and do a UK tour and plan to do so.
●C2C: Country to Country hits Scotland next week, from March 13-15. For tickets go to: c2c-countrytocountry.com/glasgow/buy-tickets/