Why country music’s Luke Combs said his Penn State concert is ‘something I’ll never forget’

Beaver Stadium was a concert venue for only the second time in history on Saturday, where country star Luke Combs performed in front of 80,000 people as part of his Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old tour.

Toward the beginning of his 23-song set list, he commented on the attendance and the personal significance of it.

“Not only am I always — me and these guys, my whole band and crew — so thankful to be able to step out here every night in front of you guys, we never take it for granted,” Combs said, adding the attendance was 80K. “But I just thought y’all would like to know, this is the biggest show I’ve ever played in my whole life. This is something that I’ll never forget.”

For more than an hour and a half, Combs played through his many hits. He kicked off the show with “The Kind of Love We Make,” and changed lyrics in several songs to reference Penn State and Beaver Stadium. Other crowd favorites were “Forever After All,” his cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” “Hurricane,” and his encore, “Beer Never Broke My Heart.”

Before singing “Fast Car,” he shared a special moment he had with a young fan from San Diego, Jocelyn, before the show.

“She battled cancer for a long time — she’s cancer free now — ... Jocelyn told me that she has raised $100,000 at a lemonade stand for cancer research,” he said. “That’s pretty special stuff and I’m going to match that, I’m going to double it. Jocelyn, now you’ve raised $200,000 for cancer research.” He dedicated “Fast Car” to her, as she told him it was her favorite song.

After his encore, Combs led a “We Are” chant.

“We love you, State College; we’ll be back,” Combs said as the show ended.

Openers Mitchell Tenpenny and Jordan Davis sported Penn State gear, and Combs had a Penn State hat on during the show. Davis also led a “We Are” chant. After, he said, “That was the coolest moment of my life.”

Drew Parker and Colby Acuff also opened for Combs.

Fans who attended spoke positively about the concert, although some didn’t exactly speak glowingly of the long lines and traffic congestion.

The show was extra special for Natalie Marketta, who came to Beaver Stadium for her very first concert. She said seeing Combs and Davis together was cool.

“It’s definitely worth going to see him, 1000%,” she said. The only thing she and Matthew Lose, the person with her, didn’t like was that the seating was very tight inside the stadium.

The Beaver Stadium show was Megan Hetrick’s third time seeing Combs, and she traveled more than two hours for it. Traffic was a hassle, she noted, as roads in State College around the stadium were gridlocked.

“I feel like it wasn’t well organized here, compared to other stadiums,” Hetrick said. “... Traffic was bad and the seats down on the turf were bad. But it was OK; it was a good concert.”

Cousins Jordan Sprague and McKenzie Sprague were blown away by the show. It was both of their first times seeing Combs in concert and said they’d go again.

“I’d spend the money again; it’s worth it,” McKenzie Sprague said. They also enjoyed seeing Davis and thought he played a good amount of songs for an opener.

Typical for Central Pennsylvania, the weather wasn’t as nice as some had likely hoped for with an outdoor concert. The temperature hovered around the 50s and many of those 80,000 fans were bundled up in winter jackets and hats.

Beaver Stadium, home of Penn State football, is the second-largest stadium in the country. It has a capacity of 106,572 and is the host of the “Greatest Show in College Sports” in the Penn State White Out each year. This is the second concert to be hosted in Beaver Stadium with the first taking place in 2017. That show, Happy Valley Jam, included country music singers Blake Shelton, Chris Young and Big and Rich.