Last fall, Luke Combs was closing out his inaugural Bootleggers Bonfire festival in Miramar Beach, Florida, when his manager, Chris Kappy, interrupted the performance. In front of a sold-out crowd, Combs learned he would receive the 109th star on Nashville’s Music City Walk of Fame. Following a monthslong delay, the “Fast Car” singer, 35, officially became the newest member during a ceremony Thursday (March 20.)
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Luke Combs’ Career Is “Beyond My Wildest Dreams”
Luke Combs began singing during his childhood in Asheville, North Carolina, seeing stage time in chorus class, school musicals, and church choir. “It’s one of the only things that I feel like I’m actually really good at,” the two-time Entertainer of the Year said during a chilly ceremony across the street from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “And I’m very, very blessed to be able to do that on a scale beyond my wildest dreams.”
Just 21 hours from earning his criminal justice degree, Combs dropped out of Appalachian State University and headed to Nashville to make a country music career happen. After he had dropped three EPs, Sounds Like Nashville named him among their “Artists to Watch” in late 2016. That same year, his debut single, “Hurricane,” sold 15,000 copies in its first week before eventually reaching the top of the Mediabase country radio singles chart.
Since then, Combs has continued to outdo himself with each album. His most recent release, last year’s Fathers & Sons, continued the journey inward that he started with his predecessors, companion albums Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old.
“All I wanted to do was be able to make a living playing music and doing something that I loved. And that would have been paying my bills, living in a one-bedroom apartment by myself — I would have been happy doing that,” he said.
Bailey Zimmerman, HARDY Congratulate Combs For Latest Achievement
Taking to Instagram Thursday (March 20), Luke Combs again reiterated that he set out on this journey purely for the love of music, not recognition.
“And I didn’t really know anyone here at the time, but I eventually met my wife [Nicole Hocking Combs] and some of my best friends,” he wrote. “I’ll be forever grateful for this and Music City taking me in as one of their own.
The post elicited congratulatory comments from other notable names in country music. “GOATTTT,” wrote rising star Bailey Zimmerman.
HARDY also chimed in. “This is sick,” the “Psycho” singer commented.
Featured image by Jason Davis/Getty Images
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