Luke Combs just kicked off his massive World Tour, which plays all over the United States, plus Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the UK — and is already almost completely sold out. The tour is something Combs has been planning for, and working towards, for a long time, as his popularity across the globe continues to grow.

“I think we’ve been building to this tour for a long time,” Combs tells his record label. “We’ve always had a long term strategy, touring-wise. This will be my fifth time in Europe, my third time in Australia. So it’s nothing new to us, as far as going to these places. There are a few new countries in there. But we always knew that we wanted to set those countries up as their own markets, not just go there and do it once, and then five years from now, we’ll do it again. [We wanted to] make a concerted effort to let the fans there know that we care about them, continue to come back, make special merch for them, cut liners for them, do interviews for their media, and do things of that nature.”

Becoming an international artist, not just one known in the United States, was a goal of Combs since the early days of his career.

“That’s something we always wanted to do,” Combs acknowledges. “And now we’re doing 35 shows and 16 countries, 18 NFL stadiums. It’s just gonna be nuts. And so, I’m looking forward to that. I’m looking forward to the culmination of years worth of touring into what I think is gonna be a pretty epic year, no doubt.”

Leaving for his World Tour was bittersweet for the “Love You Anyway” , who is a proud father to nine-month-old son, Tex Lawrence. He recently revealed that he and his wife, Nicole, are expecting their second son in September.

“I think the thing that blew me away is, there’s a whole new level of love that is unlocked with a child,” Combs tells SiriusXM’s The Highway. “It’s different from the love you have for your wife. It’s a different kind of love. As a dad, you don’t have that instant bond with a child, like the mother does. That’s a chemical thing that happens. It takes getting through those first couple of months, [which] are difficult for dads, way more difficult for mom. You feel helpless, like, ‘How can I help? How can I do anything?’  As your child starts to smile, laugh, and recognize you when you come in the room, it’s like, it just all unveils itself.”

Combs is joined on his World Tour by Riley Green, Lainey Wilson, Flatland Cavalry and Brent Cobb, with Cody Johnson and Lane Pittman serving as the opening act  for some of the overseas dates as well. Find music and tour dates at LukeCombs.com.

Read ‘Luke Combs: 11 Things To Know About the Singer’s Life and Career’ here.

Photo Credit: Jeremy Cowart