From Boone, North Carolina to the Grammy Awards stage…
Luke Combs has certainly come a very long way.
And he made his debut as a performer at the show last night, taking the stage to sing “Going, Going, Gone,” from his 2022 third studio album Growin’ Up.
The break-up song was written by by Luke along with Ray Fulcher and James McNair, and he sings about a former significant other, who no matter what he does, there’s simply no holding her down.
Throughout the lyrics, he compares the girl to everything that goes away in the blink of an eye, from a southbound train, to Arizona desert rain, to lightning in the sky, fireworks in July, home run balls, and more.
And to make it just a little bit more special, he was introduced by Justin Davis, who was his boss at Town Tavern in Boone, North Carolina, where Luke was in college at Appalachian State and first started playing country music in little bars around town.
Justin told the crowd that Luke wasn’t a good bouncer back in those days, because he was “way too nice,” adding that it’s been absolutely incredible to watch his career trajectory over the last several years:
“Long before Luke was a country superstar he was a bouncer for me at Town Tavern in Boone, North Carolina. He wasn’t the best bouncer, because he was just way too nice. I’m sure Luke never spotted a fake ID.
Luke was a student then living upstairs the bar, from the first night he came down, just him and an old guitar and played for us, he truly had us in the palm of his hand. Now Luke’s playing the biggest stages in the world, including this one here tonight.
I’m so proud the entire world gets to witness what we witnessed night after night with a crowd of just 75 people at my tavern. Ladies and gentlemen, playing the Grammys for his first time ever, my friend Luke Combs!”
It just goes to show what kind of guy Luke is to spotlight the place where he got his start and the people that first believed in him and gave him a chance… you love to see it.
He then took the stage with his full band, as well as a 3-string orchestra, to deliver a beautiful performance of his aforementioned current single.
Luke told the Recording Academy ahead of the show that he was a little nervous to do such a simple, stripped back performance on music’s biggest night, but he felt that it was a perfect for for the show:
“It is a little bit left of center of what I usually do, but I think it’s a perfect fit for this show.
And I’m excited for a lot of people who’ve maybe never heard of me or listened to me before to kind of get a chance to at least hear me and go, ‘Oh, this guy’s not so bad!’”
Luke was nominated for three awards last night, including Best Country Song for “Doin’ This,” his collaboration with Miranda Lambert “Outrunnin’ Your Memory” for Best Country Duo/Group Performance, in addition to being nominated in the Best Country Album category for his 2022 Growin’ Up.
You can only watch the performance on the Grammy website right now here, and the music video below:
Luke is set to release his fourth studio album Gettin’ Old on March 24th, in addition to hitting the road on an extensive world tour that kicks off in March.
