Luke Combs just wrapped up his massive World Tour, which featured plenty of shows overseas, including in New Zealand, Australia, Norway, Sweden, France, Switzerland and more. For a man who continues to reach for new heights and accomplishments, being the headliner on a global tour was overwhelming, in the best way possible.
“We’ve done some touring on a smaller scale over there … I think that’s what’s exciting for us too — there’s not many new or first-time experiences left for us at this point,” Combs said on The Spout Podcast, speaking of touring overseas. “Not that that’s a bad thing because we’re super lucky to have done so many awesome things.”
The North Carolina native admits one of the challenges of performing in another country is the language barrier, which caused him to change how he headlines his shows night after night.
“I talk a lot in my set in between songs, kind of explaining, ‘This is how I wrote this song’ or ‘This is where this comes from,'” he adds.
Combs recently made country music history, when he held both the No. 1 and No. 2 spots on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. “Love You Anyway” was at the top spot, while “Fast Car,” dropped from the top spot to No. 2.
‘Fast Car’ has surprised me more than you can imagine,” Combs told Billboard. “Tracy Chapman wrote this perfect song that I first heard with my dad and it has stayed with me since. I have played it in my live show now for six-plus years and everyone — I mean everyone — across all these stadiums relates to this song and sings along. That’s the gift of a supernatural songwriter.”
Although a fan of “Fast Car” since he was little, even Combs admits he was unsure he was doing the right thing when he recorded the song, which is on his latest Gettin’ Old album.
“I remember when we went in to record [it], and everyone was just kind of like, ‘Why are we doing this? … What’s the point of this?’ And it was just, I just love that song,” Combs shared.. “It’s been a huge part of my life since I can remember, running around, listening to it with my dad. Probably my first favorite song that I ever had, honestly.”
The 33-year-old and his wife, Nicole, just welcomed their second child, son Beau Lee Combs, into the world in August. The baby joins their one-year-old son, Tex, at home. Although busy, Combs says they don’t plan on hiring anyone to help care for their children.
“We’ve thought about it, and it’s not a question of ‘Can we afford that?’ It’s a question of ‘Do we want that for our kids?’” Combs reflected on Audacy‘s Superstar Power Hour. “And right now, at this time, I don’t think that’s something that we’re really interested in, because I want our kids to have as normal of a life as possible considering the circumstances. I’d rather them be riding bikes than riding a tour bus.”
Combs will kick off his Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old Tour on March 12 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, playing back-to-back shows in most cities, with Cody Jinks, The Avett Brothers and Haily Whitters among those opening for Combs on Friday nights, and Jordan Davis, Mitchell Tenpenny, Drew Parker and Colby Acuff opening for Combs for the Saturday night shows.
Find music and tour dates at LukeCombs.com.
Read ‘Luke Combs: 11 Things To Know About the Singer’s Life and Career’ here.