Luke Combs recently discussed why his touring schedule this year looks lighter than previous years in a recent interview. The reason is quite simple: he wants to be a good dad and spend time with his young children.
While the Beautiful Crazy singer has headlined this year’s Stagecoach, became the first-ever country artist to perform sold-out stadium dates in Australia, and will headline festivals including Boston Calling, Newport Folk Festival, Bonnaroo, and Lollapalooza in 2025, it’s easy to be fooled by the enormous nature of all those achievements and believe his year is busy.
But in fact, his itinerary essentially ends in October, with a handful of said festival dates scattered throughout the year.
Combs has scaled back from his usual rigorous touring schedule to focus on his family. “I want to be home with my kids,” he shared in a new interview with People. “I want to see my kids grow up, and I want them to know that they’re important to me.”
He also outlined how his career has changed since reaching a trajectory where he doesn’t have to tour constantly, going against the industry’s expectations.
“I feel like country music for a long time has been, ‘Let’s tour every year as hard as we can tour, while it’s hot,’” he explained.
“But now I’m like, ‘Why can’t you tour really hard, build a great fan base, care about them, support them, give them exclusive things, give them great experiences and let them understand that you care about them, and then if you do want some time for you, you can tell them, ‘I can’t tour this year.’
“I wanted to get to the point where I could do that, and it not be career suicide.”
In August 2023, Combs was touring Australia when his son, Beau, was born two weeks early. He missed the birth and described that day as “One of the best and one of the worst days in my life at the same time.”
Combs is the father of two boys: Tex, born in June 2022, and Beau, born in August 2023. Last June, he released the reflective album Fathers & Sons. A collection of songs featuring his most personal songwriting to date, Combs’ fifth full-length is a concept album that explores the indescribable bond between fathers and their sons.
Countrytown brings you Australia’s best country music news, interviews, charts and more every week! This post was authored by Countrytown and originally published on the Countrytown website. It has been re-published with permission.
