Little Did This Cafe in Boone, North Carolina Know, They Were Listening to the Next Great Country Star: Luke Combs Shares Photo of His First-Ever Gig From 14 Years Ago

Luke Combs is reminiscing about the start of his career. The country singer recently took to Instagram to share a throwback photo of himself performing for the first time ever.

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The pic, which was taken in 2012, shows a college-aged Combs—dressed in jeans, a flannel shirt, and a baseball cap—singing and playing guitar.

“My first ever show was 14 years ago tomorrow at Parthenon Cafe in Boone, NC,” Combs wrote alongside the photo. “It doesn’t seem that long ago but I guess time flies when you’re having fun!”

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During a 2024 appearance on The Dale Jr. Download podcast, Combs spoke about his first time playing at the now-closed bar.

“The owner of Parthenon was awesome. He was a total wildcard… whatever happens he was down with. And I asked him the next week, ‘Hey man, can I play a gig here?’” Combs recalled. “He was like ‘Yeah, whatever, just go over to the calendar and put it on there.’ That was how my first show happened.”

Luke Combs’ Year Ahead

More than a decade later, Combs is selling out stadiums across the world. He’s set to kick off the latest run of his My Kind of Saturday Night Tour in March. He’ll play across North America, before beginning the European leg of the trek in July.

It’s not just a tour that will keep Combs busy this year. He’s also set to release his latest album, The Way I Am, on March 30.

Combs, who produced the LP alongside Jonathan Singleton and Chip Matthews, is set to show off his powerful voice and storytelling capabilities with songs that balance vulnerability and energy on the album.

Among the songs on the 22-track album are previously released tracks “My Kinda Saturday Night,” “Days Like These,” “15 Minutes,” “Giving Her Away,” and “Back in the Saddle.”

Also included is “Sleepless in a Hotel Room,” a track that Combs released in conjunction with the album announcement.

“I’ve loved the song ‘Sleepless in a Hotel Room’ for a long time,” Combs said, “and it’s been awesome to see how excited the fans are for that one as well.”

Photo by Astrida Valigorsky/WireImage