Luke Combs launched his 2024 “Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old” tour earlier this month and is headlining back-to-back stadium shows in Buffalo, New York, this weekend. Combs said concertgoers can “expect more of the same” on this tour – and he doesn’t mean to make it sound boring.
“It’s just who I am,” Combs told American Songwriter. It will be me, my guitar, and my band. We’ll be playing the hits the folks want to hear as well as some newer stuff. Nothing fancy, just the music doing the talking as usual.”
Combs is planning two shows per city and plans to give them a different feeling each night by varying opening acts and his setlist. He’ll do VIP Meet & Greets, pre-show tailgates on Saturdays and add fresh songs to his set that he didn’t play last year.
When writing new songs, he anticipates the audience and imagines how they’ll react to each element – sonic and visual.
“I feel like if I can create a song that has great lyrics, an awesome visual storyline and a great melody, the fans will love it – and that’s what most important,” Combs said.
But, he doesn’t take it for granted. Combs, who spent much of his youth growing up in Asheville, North Carolina, knows that most artists don’t have the opportunity to mount stadium tours, much less play back-to-back nights.
“I feel very blessed to be in this position and have this opportunity,” he said. I don’t take it for granted, and neither does my crew and team. But I do get inspired by other artists I follow who I’ve seen play stadium shows. There are a lot of great acts out there, and I try to lean on cool things they do when possible.”
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Luke Combs Wants to Tour With Ed Sheeran and Post Malone
Combs doesn’t namecheck the artists who inspire him, but he does know he’d love to tour with his friend Ed Sheeran. He thinks Post Malone would be fun to share a stage with, too. He’s also convinced his former self – the young man who worked his way from bar bouncer to singer while he was in college in North Carolina – would be impressed with how far he’s made it in the music industry.
“There’s definitely still a little bit of that guy left in me,” Combs said. “There’s still the passion; there’s still that fire inside of me that you’ll see on stage every night, too.”
Now, he’s teaming with Miller Lite, which he calls his “go-to beer for forever,” to elevate the Luke Combs’ concert experience even more for fans. The brand is the beer sponsor for his current tour and asked if they could make him a Miller Lite trucker hat. Combs agreed, and now the hat – which is available beginning April 17 at shop.millerlite.com – could double as entry to a show.
When fans buy The Miller Lite x Luke Combs Trucker, they’ll be entered to win two tickets to a Luke Combs concert and more goodies from the Combs’ camp.
“I’ve been singing about beer for a while now,” Combs said. “The hats themselves are great. We were able to add elements of my album art and Miller Lite’s design throughout, and they turned out really cool. But more than that, I love that they give my fans the opportunity to do my favorite things – enjoy music with a good beer in hand. That’s what this is all about and that’s why I go on tour – to bring good music and good times to people.”
Photo by David Bergman
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