Luke Combs‘ Father & Sons album is out. The record is a 12-track record about being a father to his own two sons, Tex, and Beau, encapsulating his deep, deep love of being a dad.
“Every song has something to do with fatherhood, or being a son, or being a dad,” Combs tells CBS News. “In some ways, it’s a way less-smart concept album.”
Father & Sons is about his love of being a dad, but it’s also a tribute to his own parents, Chester and Rhonda Combs, who worked hard to support Combs, an only child, giving up many of their own dreams to make his come true.
“My parents both worked 50 hours a week,” Combs shares. “My dad was essentially a maintenance man. He was a very creative guy that was trapped in the blue-collar world.”
“He was excited about me pursuing something in the creative,” he continues. “He was also pretty realistic about how difficult it would be to achieve that.”
It’s the unwavering support of his own parents, which he still feels today, that makes Combs determined to pass that on to his own two sons.
“Whatever they decide to pursue, or whoever they decide to love, it doesn’t matter to me,” Combs maintains. “As long as they’re happy and fulfilled in their life, that’s what I care about.”
The irony isn’t lost on Combs that the best way he supports his children is by often being away from them, as he is now on his Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old Tour.
“Obviously, I’m gone three days a week,” Combs shares. “But I want them to know that even with my career at the biggest probably it will ever be, that they were my number one priority.”
Combs and his wife, Nicole, are hands-on parents, determined to not use a nanny, which means Nicole often stays home while he performs all over the world.
“It’s exciting, getting to play shows,” Combs acknowledges. “But I dread leaving them and my wife. I know I’m going to go live my dreams, and do everything that I wanted to do, but sometimes everything you’ve ever wanted to do changes.”
The first song Combs released from Father & Sons is “The Man He Sees in Me,” a heartfelt look at the North Carolina native’s deep desire to be the best father he can be for his two young boys.
“The Man He Sees In Me is exactly that,” Combs tells his record label. “I want to try to be the man that I want my son to become. I want his dad to be his hero in his eyes, and I want to be that.“
Combs currently has a Top 15 single with “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma.” The song is part of a star-studded soundtrack from the upcoming Twisters film, which also includes music by Jelly Roll with Alexandra Kay, Kane Brown, Shania Twain, Thomas Rhett, Megan Moroney and more. Both the film and the soundtrack will be out on July 19.
Combs will also be part of a new exhibit, Luke Combs: The Man I Am at the Country Music Hall of Fame, scheduled to open on July 11. Find Fathers & Sons, and all of Combs’ music and upcoming shows at LukeCombs.com.