LUKE COMBS: The Guilt He Faces From Missing His Child’s Birth & Living with OCD

Key Takeaway

Luke Combs reveals his superpower isn't talent—it's his ability to suffer. Years of battling undiagnosed OCD taught him mental resilience that now fuels both his music and parenting. His approach: embrace discomfort, recognize thought patterns early, and never give intrusive thoughts credibility. When you learn to sit with anxiety rather than fight it, you discover strength you never knew existed.

Episode Overview

Grammy-nominated country artist Luke Combs opens up about his journey from struggling with undiagnosed OCD as a child to becoming one of music's biggest stars. He discusses the mental health challenges that shaped him, his approach to fatherhood, staying grounded amid fame, and how suffering in silence taught him resilience. Combs emphasizes the importance of being present for his family, the work ethic his parents instilled in him, and how understanding his OCD has given him tools to manage it effectively.

Full Transcript

Transcript of LUKE COMBS: The Guilt He Faces From Missing His Child’s Birth & Living with OCD from On Purpose. Auto-generated from episode audio; may contain minor errors.

The guy that says he's always going to be there and that will do anything to be there is the only guy that's not there. I'm in Australia when Bo is born. My whole identity is that no matter what, I'm going to prioritize my wife and my children over my job. I dread the conversation with my son. What do you think you'd say? Hey everyone, welcome back to OnPurpose, the place you come to become happier, healthier, and more healed. Today's guest is someone that I've been so excited to have on the show.

I'm speaking about Luke Combmes, Grammy nominated, multi-platinum country artist and one of the most successful musicians of his generation. His music is known for its honesty, heart, and relatability and has reached millions around the world. Beyond the success, Luke is known for his humility, his deep commitment to his family, and especially his fans. Today he joins me to talk about fatherhood, mental health, and how he stays grounded through it all. Please welcome to OnPurpose, Luke Combmes. Luke, Luke, Luke, yeah, thank you for having me, man.

That was a that was a heck of an intro. I got a lot to live up to. I feel like, you know, know, know, you did all of it here. You lived all of it. You're you're doing all of it. I mean, it's it's amazing when, you know, I just met your team and they're wonderful and the way they speak about you is wonderful, but it's genuine. And I'm like, when I hear about your reputation, your reputation precedes you. before this interview looks the nicest guys, you know, I like that.

Has that been work? Has it been hard to stay grounded or is it just who you are? Yeah, I think I think it's both, you know. Um I think and you know I I've always thought that you know um when you reach a certain level of of success or what I hate fame. I hate the word celebrity. I hate those words. They're weird and they they make me uncomfortable a little bit. But it's reality. like also accept it and it's just weird to like say it.

I don't want it to ever sound like a braggadocious thing. Um, but I think when you get to a certain point like the fame or the success or the influence like it just kind of accentuates and exacerbates the inherent person that you are, right? Like if you're I think if you were a great guy and you become rich and successful and famous or whatever, like it gives you the opportunity to be more of who you already are. It gives you a chance to be more giving or more passionate or more um I don't know, more narcissistic if that was your, you know, if that's already like if you have a proclivity to be that way anyways, it just it just kind of inflates that.

It makes like the super version of who you already are, you know? Um, but it does take a lot of work, too. I mean, me and my team are are really close. Um, you know, every everybody's like, "Oh, you know, we're a family out here or what?" You know, it's like I hear that all the time. And I truly believe it. And and I hope that everyone else that says that believes that, too. But that's really the way that we try to operate. You know, it's kind of like, you know, it's it's you know, one for all kind of mentality um on the road with us.

And um I think you you know I mean it's not hard in my opinion to be kind to people. Um and maybe that's just because that's the way that I am, you know. Um and that's down to the dorman at the hotel or my manager, you know what I mean? Or you know, it's like in my opinion, it's not it's not a difficult thing to do to just choose to be kind and be grateful for this. Even if I'm having a tough day, you know what I mean?

I'm still go out of my way to be kind to people. Um because I think, you know, it's it's an important thing to do. You know, it's it's every interaction that I have with someone from a random fan I meet at the grocery store to my kids, like every impression makes an impression, whether it's a small one or a huge one, you know. Um and so I always just try to be really mindful of that in my interactions with with anyone. Did you ever believe this would be your life?

life? life? Never. Never. What what did you think life was going to look like? You know, I was a you know, if you would have asked me 10 years ago or 12 years ago, I would have been really afraid of the answer, you know, cuz I I had no idea. I feel like I was kind of aimlessly floating. I felt like I was kind of checking boxes that were like I felt like I was supposed to be checking, which was like like I graduated high school and it was like, "Okay, what now?" And it was like, "Well, you go to college, that's just what happens, you know?

that's what you're supposed to do, you know. you know. you know. And so I went and did that and I had a great time in school. I really I I didn't like school. I liked being at the school, but I didn't like be in being in school, if that made sense, you know. So I was doing a lot of that and I I would spend a lot of time, you know, like I was majoring in business at the very beginning and then I switched to criminal justice and I enjoyed criminal justice a lot more than I enjoyed business.

I I had I just liked that like studying that. It was interesting to me. Um, and then but it was still like it just never felt quite right, you know? It was like it just doesn't feel like and I was get scared as every year would tick by in college. It was like, oh, I'm a year closer to having to make this like really important life decision that I'm like don't feel prepared to make in any way or don't feel good about making like and I didn't really I guess maybe understand or have the ability to process that at the time.

It was just like time keeps going whether you want it to or not. And so you're just kind of like sitting like the light at the end of the tunnel gets closer, but it was almost the opposite effect. Like it felt like I was in this great place like I'm in school. I love my friends. I love the social aspect. I enjoy being around people my age that are, you know, like-minded and having the activities I love to do. It was almost the opposite. It was almost like the darkness at the end of the tunnel was like this idea of like being a real adult and like college ends and then you're like you basically just go into the workforce and then you're miserable for 30 years and then you retire.

And it was like it was so scary that like idea of that because I hadn't found like something I was passionate about at that time. And so it was a scary proposition to go like when this ends what now? You know what I mean? Um, so that was kind of my experience there and that that was the the way that I was living my life at that time. And then when I found, you know, when I picked the guitar up, you know, towards the end of my college career, it was like immediately all made sense.

It like flipped like the whole script just flipped. It was like then it was like, oh, like I'm almost out. Like now I can go do the thing I want to go do. And it all made sense. But if I hadn't found that passion, I you know, I don't know what I would be doing right now to be quite honest. And is that what it felt like? It felt like discovering a passion. Like it felt like like like Oh, definitely. It It almost felt like discovering what I was meant to do.

It was almost like beyond a passion. It was like, well, this is what I was like meant to do. Like this what I was like put on earth to do is this thing. Um just because I'd loved singing my whole life, man. And it was like it was a big part of like my self-worth was derived from like my identity I derived from like this is the thing that I'm good at. Like I'm not good at anything else. Um as far as from a skill standpoint I thought okay well I'm a good friend like I'm a good son.

Like I that stuff wasn't kind of I felt confident in those things but I didn't feel fulfilled in like what will my role be in the world? like what will I contribute to the world? And it never had to be some big thing. Like my idea of it wasn't well there's some but I feel like if you're good at something and you have a passion for it, you have this inherent sense of like I can contribute or make the world a better place in some way by doing the thing that I'm good at.

I can positively impact people's lives by doing something that I love to do and being great at it. And that can benefit other people in other ways. And music was my way of doing that. doing that. doing that. Yeah. What's like a childhood memory that you have that you feel defines who you are today? I think I have a tremendous ability to suffer. suffer. suffer. Wow. Wow. Wow. Because of the OCD things that I've dealt with. I've I've talked about that stuff a lot. Um almost had nauseium in some.

Not in a negative way, but I'm I'm very open about it. I'm not afraid to speak about it. But that was very defining for me. I had a great childhood. My parents were great. Great home, hardworking. My parents are still married. They're still around. So, I worry sometimes when I talk about like how tough it was being younger for me. And like I worry when my parents see these things that they think that that has some reflection of like them as parents. It doesn't at all.

You know, like they went above and beyond for me as parents. And becoming a parent myself has made me I'm more thankful for them every day as I raise my kids because I realize how difficult it is and I realize how hard it was and I've gained this great appreciation even more so for them as I raise my own children. So I don't want them to ever get the idea that it was it was anything to do with them. them. them. the whole nature of that kind of OCD.

There's a lot of like suffering and silence, right? And it's given me a this really great outlook on I know what bad is is, dude. Like I've been to the bottom in here and it's like I I'm not there. you know, I still have a proclivity to be able to go there if certain things line up and, you know, I were to have an OCD moment or something, but those moments are few and far between and they're a lot shorter lived than they used to be.

And I'm not afraid of those moments anymore. I lived my life when I was younger in fear of like, when is this going to come back and why does it go? I don't even know what it is at that time. It's like I wasn't like a diagnosed, you know? Mhm. It was something I felt like I even had a hard time explaining to my parents like what they're like what do you what do you mean you know like they're not I mean they weren't you know they're not clinical psychologists so they don't really understand you know and so I can't imagine how afraid they were at the time of like well I wish we could help our child you know I can't imagine how helpless you would feel if my kids came to me with something that I didn't understand I would be like gosh I don't even know how to explain like where would I even take them you know um and so that was a really defining part of of like my childhood.

You know, it's not the only memory, but it's the one that kind of sticks out as like this common theme. Like every couple of years I would go through these really brutal OCD stints without even knowing what was going on. going on. going on. Wow. Do you feel comfortable talking about some of those days and Oh, certainly. Yeah, certainly. I mean fil like days like filled with like rumination you know like a lot of like you know people ask me about and what the experience is like and I try to describe it to people and it's almost like indescribable sometimes like I think they think and not this is not a slight to anyone that may think this if you haven't experienced it you almost can't understand it to some extent and they like well how how often is like I'm talking about you know 95% of the day from opening your eyes to close them at night.

You are thinking about this thing and it's causing you a tremendous amount of anxiety and like mental anguish to try to like find the answer to this like unanswerable question. It's it's scary cuz it's like you're so I think it's helped my songwriting and I think it's helped my ability to be creative. I think the creativity can be a blessing and a curse in that way. Mhm. It can help me create scenarios in my mind that really don't have a leg to stand on stand on stand on and I can build them into, you know, one world trade in my mind from nothing.

Um, and that can be really great in a songwriting sense. It can be really dangerous in like a mental health sense. Um, so those days would be go to bed, you close your eyes and you go, gosh, like I just hope in the morning I'm not thinking about this thing. And the second you open your eyes, it's the first thing you think of. And then you spend the entire day either thinking about it or trying not to think about it and hoping that it would go away and feeling hopeless and saying why me?

Why am I like this? What did I do to deserve this? Like almost having some like almost like there's almost like an anger to it. to it. to it. A shame and guilt as well. Yeah. And you're just like what? Like this like because outwardly like the world around me was so great. I have this great, you know, these great parents that go out of their way to take care of me. I have great friends. We have a nice home. It's safe. I have food to eat.

I'm in a great school. I have great friends. I have a great life. I have talent. I have drive. You know, but that would just it would just I mean, it's like basically if everything in the room was so great and there was one pile of dog [ __ ] on the floor and all the lights went off and they just shined on the pile of dog [ __ ] It was like that was the only thing I could focus on, you know? I hate to put it in such a crude way, but like it's great.

It's a great way. It's like the room is perfect, but the dog pooped on the floor. All you have to do is clean it up, but you don't know how to clean it up and you can't get rid of it and it becomes the only thing you think about and it's like all you focus on and like you don't have the ability to focus on all the good or even the mental capacity to be appreciative of the good because you spend so much mental energy on the negative thing, the one negative thing.

What were those thoughts as a kid that kept taking over like that? So those themes, you know, they change every time. So, like if you go through, let's say you go through a theme, you know, I'm sure you're aware of OCD stuff. It it all is theme based, right? And you basically only have one theme at a time. It's funny like let's say I was worried about uh like if I was having intrusive thoughts about like committing violence against someone or something and they're causing me all this stress and I'm like, "What does that mean about me?

What does that say about me?" M and then if I switch like if my theme were to switch to the next day I'm like what if I was schizophrenic and I didn't know it and you're like and you're panicked and you're completely panicked and you're all consumed by that. I'm talking in an instant like let's say I've been worrying about all this violent stuff all these horrible thoughts and things that you don't want going through your head. The second I have that new thought of like what if I what if I'm schizophrenic right?

And then you go instantly you can think on all the violent stuff and go, "Well, that was dumb. I'm not even worried about that at all. all. all. It doesn't even seem like something you ever would have even worried about. You're like, "That was so stupid. Why did I waste 3 months of my life stressing about that thing, but when you're in it, it's not like you don't have the capability of to turn it off." You know, I remember my dad would say, and this is no slight to him, this is, you know, this is classic like dad stuff.

And he'd be like, "Well, son, just don't think about it. and I'll be like, "Well, man, that would be great." That's kind of the whole point of like, well, that's what I'm trying to get to, you know? I'm trying to figure out how to do that. That's kind of the struggle, you know? you know? you know? And as no slight cuz again, we I'm undiagnosed. We don't know what's going on. Like, on. Like, on. Like, no one talks about go out and take a walk, you know, or it's like it's not that simple, you know?

I'm sure that would have actually helped quite a bit, but it's not quite that simple. And so, yeah, I mean, you know, you spend the whole day like I mean, there's days when I'm like, I don't even want to go to school, man. Like, because I'm just gonna be thinking about this all day and be stressed about it and be thinking about it at football practice and think about it in choir and think about it in math class and think about it at lunch with my friends and just you're just constantly your brain's just constantly bombarding you with like these like life or death feelings of like you need to address this issue.

It's a big issue and it has to be addressed right now. And you you are in this heightened state of like you're almost in like fight or flight mode all the time and it's just exhausting. You get so mentally exhausted like having this battle with yourself. Um and I'm very thankful to be you know to have gone through that. It's definitely made me a better person and made me more appreciative of the life I have now, the grasp on it, the understanding of my own mind and um you know, thankfulness and just joy and reveling in the good times when they're around, which thankfully now is 99% of the time.

You know, I just I'm well equipped. I have the tools. um you know and not that I'm immune to it or anything like that, but I'm hyper aware of it and I can I'm more aware now of the things that the thought patterns and the way that it happens and the way that it comes about and I'm I'm an expert at combating that in my own head. Um and that's been a really great blessing, you know. Um, but I and having the platform now to speak about it and be okay with it.

And it's never something I was particularly ashamed of. It was just something that I didn't know how to to verbalize and know how to like speak about in a in a way that other people could understand. And I I feel lucky to have the ability now to to to be a voice for someone that's out there right now that may be in the situation I was in and they're 12 or 13 years old. and they're going, "Look at this guy." Like, maybe maybe there's if there's one kid that doesn't feel as hopeless as I felt watching this now, like that it's all worth it to me.

Like being able to like like like be that light for someone else and hopefully, you know, um is is a really great feeling to be honest. Which relationship was most negatively impacted in your life at that time because of it? My relationship with myself. I didn't really have a lot of time to figure out who I was because I I I couldn't think about anything else. And maybe I would have picked up guitar in seventh grade when my parents bought it for me because I would have had time to focus on that, you know.

Um I can't do anything about that now. And things worked out the way they were supposed to work out. I mean, obviously, you know, I mean, here I am, you know. Um, and it's that that was the one that was tough is like you don't get any time to like do all these like this kind of like my childhood was great. It was idyllic really besides this. I don't want to sound like it was like constant dread and doom and like there were certainly spells of that and it was like those were kind of like the defining things along the way and but there was a lot of good too.

You know, I don't want to make it sound like I had the worst life ever cuz I didn't. But it was it was very very hard at times and it was very isolating and made you feel very alone and like very vulnerable and very confused, you know, what is going on? Like I don't imagine my friends are dealing with this, you know, and if they are, I would talk to my friends about it. I I mean Austin, who I'm sure you met, is my best friend from childhood really.

and I talked to him about it, you know, he knew. I mean, it's like, but they, you know, they don't have any answers, but they're like, "Bro, you're it's a it's all good, you know, like they were always very supportive. No one was like, "You're weird. I can't believe you're doing this." Like, I'm lucky that everyone in my life was supportive of my struggles. And I'm glad that I was open about them and felt the ability to be open about them. That in itself is a blessing.

You know, I can't imagine a kid out there right now whose family is like, "Listen, you better stop talking about this. I'm sick of hearing about it. You know what I mean? It's like that would just crushes my soul. You know, it's already so hard even if everyone is open to the whole thing. Um, so that would say that that was the relationship that honestly affected the most because if I didn't tell you, if you would have met me at 13 years old or 14 years old, like you wouldn't have even known.

It's not something you can see. It's all in here. Like that's why they call it purely obsessional because like only because that's a bit of a misnomer in my opinion dear medical people it's a misnomer but there are tons of compulsions they're just all mental compulsions they're not outward so they call it purely obsessional because all the compul it's not like I'm like oh gosh this glass I better get it you know this thing this moving this glass around and getting it to feel right is all happening in here instead of out here you the like checking the stove a 100 times to make sure it's off.

I'm doing that up here instead of doing it. There's no physical manifestation of the compulsions. compulsions. compulsions. Um, so Um, so Um, so yeah, huge, huge part of my life. Yeah. No, I appreciate you saying it. I mean, you sharing it is helping so many other people as you said, listening, learning, trying to, you know, that kid who wants to tell their family, tell their friend, you know, and recognize that it's not some dysfunction that they have, but just something that they're experiencing. What does OCD look like now in your life?

What happens is not any different. Um I think now when it does happen, I'm just so much more aware of it, you know? Um and it's good it's good cuz when it happens, I can just I straight up tell her like when I'm like, "Hey, this is going on." Like just so you know, like if I seem a little absent- minded or if I'm like if you say something and I didn't quite pay enough attention to it, like it's not just me being aloof. It's like I'm I'm kind of going through this and so she understands that.

So I don't have to worry about that. Like I don't have to worry about her why are you being weird? Like it's just an honest thing thing thing and she feels for me which is nice to know that there's someone that understands what I'm going through that's supportive of it and doesn't judge me for it at all. Um and you know I mean again she's no therapist either. So um but I I'm so well equipped now. What what has been that equipped? What's actually helped people who are struggling?

struggling? struggling? Honestly, the the interesting thing about it is like not like not giving any like any credibility or attention to the thoughts is ultimately the thing that makes it go away, right? But the years and years and years of not knowing that your go-to is like think about the thoughts and try to figure it out and try to solve it. So when you do that, like I didn't find out what I had till I was probably like 19 or 20 really. like I didn't find pure o OCD until then.

I'd been dealing with it for seven or eight years at that time. And once I found it naturally enough, I obsessed about it trying to figure it out. Like what does this mean? And and a lot of that not not from I don't want to try to like I'm not trying to say like I was really great and I figured it out. It was basically like one of the big no nos of OCD is seeking reassurance that whatever the thought you have is not founded in any fact or reality, right?

Like that's the trap. It's like trying to solve the problem. So when you're when you're young and you're in it, you're constantly seeking reassurance in your own mind to like discredit the thoughts that you're having. And so I would use that diagnosis. I would go and study this. I would go study what's piro and what's, you know, understand the way that people that have it think and the tools and like I was looking that stuff up to try to alleviate the anxiety from the thoughts. Mhm.

Little did I know, and not that anyone should do this, I would not suggest it, but little did I know I was basically teaching myself to be an expert on the disease that I had or the mental illness that I had. And so now I'm so wellversed and studied in it. And again, not a therapist, don't claim to be. Now I I know the thought patterns and I'm so familiar with like I can feel it coming on. I know when it's happening. I don't know why it happens and I know I I just have the entire tool belt of like getting rid of it if I need to.

And uh I think that is I mean it's a blessing and a curse. You know, it was a curse the way I got to it, but it's a blessing now. You having that knowledge, it keeps me from from you know, slipping into that state a lot a lot. You know, and when I talk about OCD, I mean, that's the most interaction I get from people reaching out to me a lot is, "Hey, man, like you're the only guy I know that's ever talked about this cuz it's kind of like like like an obscure variant of OCD.

It's not as common as like stereotypical." Sure. Sure. Sure. You know, You know, You know, you're hearing about it more and more now, though. now, though. now, though. Certainly. Certainly. It's like it's definitely an underststudied I mean there was a time even 10 or 12 years ago I was looking it up that some OCD doctors were like that's not a real thing. thing. thing. Yeah. I'm like, "Wow, what a dangerous thing to like say in a public." Like, what an arrogant thing to say. Like if you've never had it to even though you're an expert regardless and I'll probably get roasted for this online like how dare you say it if you've never like you like saying someone's mental condition like doesn't exist is an incredibly damaging thing especially given the nature of the one that you're talking about because that in and that statement in and of itself could send someone into a six-month spiral like that statement could kick off an entire another episode of like life crippling OCD for someone with OCD because then they would read it and go, "Oh my god, it's not real.

I really am a murderer murderer murderer or I really am going to crash my car into a school." You know what I mean? Like Like Like it's like it just makes people like so panicked, you know? Yeah. And I had a friend who just constantly kept thinking she was gonna do something bad to her kids and so she had to be away from them for weeks. Oh, it's horrible. Yeah, I get it. Avoidance behavior. Another terrible thing. One of the worst things you can do do do because then you're giving the thoughts like the power of like there really is an issue.

So now you're isolating yourself from your kids. So there really is a problem now. It gives the thoughts more credibility. So you're taking action and telling yourself these thoughts are important. That's why I need to remove myself. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know, it's it's crazy, man. It's a vision. It's like a rip current in your mind. mind. mind. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. Like your instinct is to, you know, swim this way and really you should just do the opposite, not struggle and just swim this way.

You just want to swim that is all you want to do. You know, it's crazy. It's a crazy spiral. crazy spiral. crazy spiral. You've spoken so beautifully about your parents. What's something that your parents did for you? What's a lesson they taught you that you're trying to pass on to your children? Yeah, I mean I think really just work ethic, you know. I mean, my parents, I mean, they taught me a lot of things, you know. Um, my mom was just, you know, she's like wonderful, you know, and my dad's was wonderful and um my dad wasn't like he wasn't like my buddy growing up.

Like he was like he was my dad, you know what I mean? He was like he was a maintenance man at the bank and it was like he worked 40 hours and he came home and he mowed the grass and he drank beer with his buddies and like not that I was neglected in any way but like we weren't like ping around a lot because there wasn't time. He was constantly working to provide me with food and provide mom with, you know, mom was working, too, you know.

So, it was a very, very working-class home. And that's what our life centered around was mom and dad have [ __ ] to do and they're going to do it. And that's, you know, that's just the way it is. And, you know, obviously that provided me with a lot of things and and I'm I'm grateful for that. I never had to wonder what, you know, clothes I was going to wear to school or what food I was going to eat when I got home. Like those worries were gone.

Um, and so, you know, nothing but gratefulness for that. And my, you know, it it was like they I learned so much from seeing that. You know, luckily I'm in a position now where it doesn't have to be that way. It had to be that way for them. There was no other option. Um it was either you know it was work and provide or or don't provide. You know those were the two options they were presented with. My life now is obviously a lot different than that.

It's I have the ability to do both. I have the ability to do it on my own schedule when I want to and where I want to. Um, I h I spend, you know, I have conversations with people that, you know, everyone wants to know what's it like to be, you know, a musician and, you know, being when you're touring and well, do you miss your family? And it's like, well, obviously I miss them when I'm gone, but I'm not gone like that much now. Like I guarantee I spend more time with my kids than 90% of people probably because they're not in school and if I'm not here with you, I'm there.

like there I'm nowhere else basically except for deer season but other than that I'm not anywhere else you know like I'm there and you know in a couple years they'll be at deer season too you know what I mean so I get to you know like when I'm home and like I'm home and I'm not I'm not splitting my time at home between okay well I've got to do 50 work things today and you know the kids are at school and I don't ever see them and then I leave and they're you know, begging me to, you know, play with him for 5 minutes.

It's like when I come home, dude, like I'm cooking breakfast, I'm cooking lunch, I'm cooking dinner, like I'm changing diapers, I'm giving baths. Like I'm that like I'm in it. You know what I mean? Like I'm hands-on. I want to be I want them to to know that, you know, at the most critical stages of my career that they were still the top priority for me. And my parents showed me that in a different way. It was like, "Hey, we're going to go work these jobs that we don't like so that you can have the best life that you can have." And so I learned that from them, I just get to manifest it in a different way for my kids.

kids. kids. Yeah. I like the way you put that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That for you, for them it was doing something they didn't like to show you that they're number one out of love. And yours is almost like I'm actually going to put aside something that I like to show you. To show you how important you are. Exactly. It's a it's a different version of the same sacrifice for sure. Absolutely. From the outside, I'm always fascinated by how things look from the outside and the inside.

From the outside, your career, we had this like meteoric rise. meteoric rise. meteoric rise. What was it like for you? What was the feeling that was actually happening? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it it was certainly, but it also felt like it feels like I've been doing it for a year and it feels like I've been doing it for a hundred years at the same time, if that makes any sense. You know, tell me about that. Those early years, man, were really hard, you know? I mean, the music industry has changed so much in the last 11 years.

Um, I I mean, I really have been in it in a in like an official like I've got a record deal like I'm promoting my music and in the in the grand way that it's done now. That's only been going on for I mean I guess like this would be year 10 for me. Probably year nine maybe. Yeah, year nine because of 2017 was my first number one. Signed my record deal in the fall of 16 and then didn't really ramp it up until like the beginning of 17.

Um, but had been doing stuff on my own for a long time before that. Um, and you know, you you almost learn more doing that stuff, like doing it on your own. And you know, I I wonder if people miss that a little bit now because it's like you you know, you almost get invited to the table when it's time to be there, you know, instead of like fighting for this spot at the table like in town. Like I don't know if if as many people are like moving to Nashville now.

Like you almost know if you're going to make it or not now because of social media. media. media. And I was one of the first people that did that. Not intentionally. I don't want to make myself sound like a genius. I'm not. It's like that. I just got I just lucked into that. Like I had Vine came out. I'm on this big platform. I'm pro just singing on there and playing little sixsecond covers and then Instagram comes out. I'm doing that. And I use that as a marketing tool for myself.

Again, not in like any way of like this is the future. I don't want to be like I predict, you know, I'm not trying to Steve Jobs it and say I invented iTunes. That's not the case. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, I just lucked into it and it happened to be the perfect time for that for people to be receptive to that and now that has become the model. That is the way you do it. So I was just one of if not the first guy to do that.

Um I wish I could say it was intentional. I just I just lucked into that really. And so I when I moved to town I had all these sales numbers, ticket sales that to me I was like well this is normal. like this is just how could people not be doing it this way? This is the way it goes. But I moved to Nashville. I don't really know anyone. I have one or two connections to like some buddies that were nude in town that wrote songs and didn't have anything else going on.

And I would just go out to writer nights and try to meet people. And you know, I found like-minded people and we wrote songs together and then, you know, one thing turns into another and here we are. But I don't know that that happens as much now because if let's say you were a new artist and you go, I want to be a country singer. That's my dream. Well, you just get on TikTok or Instagram or Instagram or Instagram and you write songs at your house and you see how people feel.

Yeah. You see how people feel and if all of a sudden it becomes this like undeniable thing and then the record labels are calling your house. So when you get to Nashville, it's like the culture of that like the new people in town that are all banded together trying to succeed and do this thing like that's kind of not there right now, right now, right now, you know, because why why would you now when you could just stay live at your parents' house and not pay rent and not take any risk?

You don't have to go play shows because why would you? It's all an unnecessary risk at this point. And I'm not saying that's right or wrong. everything progresses and changes. Um, but I think it has kind of like unintentional consequences. And again, not that that's inherently wrong. It's just the the nature of the beast right now. So, I'm thankful for that. I was of the kind of the last generation. Like, I kind of got to experience both. I got to do the social media like get feedback instantaneously, create my own space, my own community, have my own fans before anyone else got to decide or control that process.

But I also got to move to Nashville and be a part of a a culture that, you know, we created ourselves and i.e. we being like me and my friends created kind of our own Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. bubble of success that we all came up in together. That was really cool to be a part of. It's one It's one of my favorite parts of like my whole story is like I mean my first seven number ones was everyone's first number one song. When my first record was turned in to Sony, there was one person on the entire record that even had a publishing deal.

Wow. Wow. Wow. It was just all people I had like met at bars and [ __ ] and like wrote songs with that are now like lifelong friends of mine, you know, and people that I still collaborate with to this day. Not everyone. I'm still super in touch with, but the core crew is like people that I like go on trips with and like have around my kids and stuff, you know what I mean? So, it's like that's like you can't create that artificially. It has to be an organic thing.

So, I I'm I feel sad for some of this generation that may lose that. And they they probably have their own community and ecosystem that I'm unaware of that feels just as great as mine. But I long for the like the nostalgia of that. It's like I want other people to get to experience that the same way that I did, but they may just be having that same experience in a different lane, you know? know? know? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. At least I'm hopeful that they are.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I I can relate to a lot what you're saying because my work kind of around the same time. 2016 was the year I again, just like you, no strategy, no technique, just started sharing what I believed in, what I cared about on social media, right? right? right? And it took 28 at that time. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. took off organically. I didn't know where it was going. I didn't have a plan for where it was going. going. going. And so I can relate to what you're saying about this idea of just putting something out there and you weren't doing it because the you thought the platform was going to get you somewhere else.

Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. It was it was just the platform was available. available. available. The thing that I love about it is it creates no like barrier to entry. Totally. Totally. Totally. It's like purely what resonates with people. It's like strictly talent based. It's like strictly work ethic based. Like it's all based on like how hard are you willing to work? How much do you resonate with people? What's your music? What do people think of your music? Um so it's cool in that sense. And whether it's a podcast or a music or I don't I can't even imagine like or a chef like I think of like you know Joshua Wiseman who's like he starts out putting videos on YouTube and he's like now he's like this one of the most influential food creators in the world.

You know what I Like it's just so cool that you can create something from nothing on your own accord now and you get to control the narrative and of how your career is going to go as opposed to you know this kind of nameless like these nameless people and entities going like well you're going to do that and wear that and you know they basically they get to it it's it's great for everybody because there's no risk for the labels in a lot of ways. They don't have to go, "We'll sign 10 guys and hopefully one of them works out." And they go, "Now, we'll just sign 10 guys and they're all gonna work out because we know.

We just know it's gonna work out." It's already proven. We have the proof right there. So, it's kind of a win-win for everybody in this situation. At least, I think. But, But, But, um, it's cool, man. It's a cool time. Yeah. There was a moment in your life, you were talking about your family being a priority now, but there was a moment in your life that kind of shifted you back in that direction, right? That made you take a bit of a break. I mean, I think it was I mean, COVID was a big reason for that.

Obviously, it was like my career was white hot when CO happened and it was kind of like it was a bummer. It was a bummer for a lot of us, you know. Um, a lot of musicians, you know, I there's a lot of people that didn't survive the whole CO whole CO whole CO thing, you know, like you kind of come in and it's like all of a sudden you're, you know, I can't imagine having been a new artist, like a brand new artist when that happened cuz then it's like you kind of only get the one shot and then if it if it dwindles at that time just because of the what's happening in the world like well that can be kind of it.

That was tough. But my family thing, you know, I we have our first son texts and then 5 months later we find out we're pregnant with our next Bo. And so that was a whirlwind. I mean, like, you know, you're having a 5-month-old, you're figuring out how to be a parent, have a baby, and then all of a sudden you have another baby. You know, you have two babies at the same time. You know, I almost would have rather had twins. Would have been an easier transition to be quite honest.

You know what I mean? Like it was almost more difficult having like cuz then they're at two different ages but they're both so fragile and like like like I mean when Bo was born like Tex couldn't even walk yet. So it was like my wife's got one on the hip and one in the cradle and it's like I'm out I'm in I'm in Australia when Bo is born and that's like crushing like devastating things. My whole identity is that no matter what, I'm going to prioritize my wife and my children over my job, over what I do.

Like, they're my number one priority. I want them to know that. And then here I am having this moment of like, well, guess who wasn't there. Like, the guy the guy that says he's always going to be there and that will do anything to be there is the only guy that's not there. And so it it was a it was a huge blow to like it was like man well you set yourself up to do everything you can to be there and then the plan doesn't go the way that you thought it was going to go and it's nobody's fault obviously um it's just a way of you know was the universe's decision at that point.

I mean, he comes two and a half weeks early, you know, 4 days from going home and he decides, you know, to show up and, you know, and everyone's like, "What? You can you plan the tour that close?" The tour is already planned. We The tour is planned before we even find out we're pregnant with with Bo. So, there's no canceling the tour. It's sold out before we even know we're pregnant, you know. So, you have this obligation to your fans to go and and and do that and put the shows on and and power through.

And I didn't I didn't tell anyone that until after I got home, you know what I mean? Like I kept it to myself because, you know, there was never this big like I didn't want it to be this big woe is me like PR campaign of look how sad I am and look how hard it's been. I mean, it's it's kind of what you know that that could happen going in, I think. And so, you have a right uh you have a duty to your fans to continue the show on, you know.

Um I mean, even if I would have left, I would have not been home. home. home. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I woke up. Yeah. You wouldn't have made it in time, right? It's 8:00 a.m. Sydney time. My wife texts me 6:00 a.m. Sydney time or whatever. I don't even know what that time zone's called, but 6:00 a.m. So, I wake up 2 hours after the text of like, I'm going to the hospital. Obviously, call her first thing. She's in the hospital. I mean, thank God my sister-in-law was there.

My mother-in-law was fine in that day. My parents lived in town. So, the support system was there and I'm for that. I am eternally grateful. You know, um brings serious perspective to the it takes a village kind of thing. You know, I I can't imagine if my wife would have been alone during that thing, it would have been even more crushing. But knowing that she had people that she trusted and cared about being around was a huge relief for me. It didn't make it any easier, but it was better.

Um, and so that really shifted my focus of like what happens from here? Like how do I make, you know, how do I make changes based on this thing? Like I dread the conversation with my son at some point like cuz obviously he doesn't know that he's 2 and a half like he's not even going to understand that for 5 years you know know know but I dread that conversation of being like like like you know well dad you you know you made this record about being such a good dad and then you weren't there when I was born but you were there for text and you were there for the next kid and why was I the only one that you weren't there for?

Um so I worry about that a lot. Um, interesting. interesting. interesting. And I think that it will be okay. Um, but it I haven't quite yet processed when to have that conversation. Obviously, not anytime soon, but when I do have that conversation, how do I, you know, say that to a seven or 8year-old and it be meaningful? I think it's bigger than one conversation. It's not like, hey, I wasn't there. Get over it. That's it. We're not talking about it. You know, it's it's more nuanced than that.

I'm sure it will be a lifetime of, you know, conversations and um I'm hopeful that he'll be understanding. I'm I'm sure that he will. Um if I do my job right and my wife does her job right, I think he will be if he turns out to be a good a good person the way that I hope that he does. What do you think you'd say? I'd probably just break the news. You know, I think the first conversation is going to be I want to tell you before you find out first.

I think that's the most important thing is is getting ahead of, you know, I don't want him to to one day, you know, have access to the internet and come across this thing and it's, you know, Luke Holmes misses the birth of his child to be at the show and then he's like, "Well, I didn't know that. Which child is it?" And then it's like, "Oh, it was me. Why did he never tell me?" You know, I think that avoiding that is like number one. Um, so I think that's the first conversation you kind of like let that like wash the shock a little bit of that like wash over them.

Um, and then I think there's a follow-up conversation which is hey you know like you know I would do anything for you. You know I would have given anything to be there but like even if I make the best effort I can like there there's no way I would have been there. Like he was born at by 10:00 a.m. Mhm. and like two two hours after I wake up, he's born. So, like I wouldn't even have been able to like get a plane and be at the airport yet and he would have been born already.

So, um it's not like I tried and didn't make it. It was like there was no way that I was going to make it. And so, I think I'm like mentally like past the guilt of it now. Um like cuz I beat myself up about it for a while. I couldn't even talk about it for a while without getting super emotional about it. And I think you just have to move forward and you just have to you just you just have to, you know, cross that bridge when you come to it.

And um I'm lucky to still have, you know, to be 5 years older or 5 years wiser, you know, when that conversation has to happen um and have had more time to process and think about it. But I mean, it's the nature of the beast, man. like, you know, know, know, and if you work at the butcher shop, you're probably going to get blood on you when you're when you're at work or you're probably going to come home smelling like smelling like smelling like raw meat.

You know what I mean? Like, you knew that. You kind of knew that going in. It's not like you knew it could happen. You hoped it wouldn't and it did. And so now you just have to live with it and deal with it and address it and not let it become an issue. Yeah. In days like these, you sing, "When the sky is blue and the grass is green, how much better can it be? If I got you and you got me, we got everything we need.

And even if it grew on trees, well, money can't buy days like these. like these. like these. And you talk about money in that song and in rich man as well. And how money can't buy happiness. How do you define a rich life? This is always such a tough subject for me because I think there, you know, there's no hiding that there's no hiding that I I do really well. Um, and that's something that I have some guilt around. Not guilt from like having money or having success.

I feel like it's a question of like why do I deserve it more than maybe someone else? I don't deserve it more than anyone else. But you feel this guilt of like I almost feel it's not an imposttor syndrome. It's not the same as that. like you feel like, man, well, I I just I feel like I have more than I deserve or I don't deserve to have been this successful or you feel guilty for being this successful. And you kind of get this feeling like, well, I I maybe people like can't relate to me anymore.

And like I hate that cuz like I haven't changed other than the circumstances of my life now. Um at least I think that I would like to think that everyone around me would agree with that. Um, so I hope I'm not sounding like egotistical by saying that, but like I I would I would be willing to bet that a lot of the people that that know me well would say it's the same guy with a different different bank account. Um, and so those songs are even difficult.

I find it a little bit like cliche for me to even say that. And I danced around putting Rich Man on this record because I was worried about sounding hypocritical, right? Cuz the whole idea of the song is a guy in a bar who's basically supposed the character his character is supposed to be a farmer, right? Like the narrator of that song is not supposed to be me. It's supposed to just be a guy who's in a bar and he sees two other guys having a conversation and it's basically a guy in overalls who is supposed to in my my eyes when we wrote it was a farmer or whatever and older guy and then a younger guy who's kind of in a suit, you know, he's doing the whole business guy thing and he's stressed out about the stock market and he's stressed out about work and all these things and you know, the farmer just kind of gives him this allegory in the song of like, you Oh, hey rich man.

You know, I know you didn't ask, but I'll say this, man. All the money in the world don't mean [ __ ] man. Cuz it can't go with you when you die, buy you time, or hold your wife and kids' hands. And for me, I'm very aware of how much better my life is by having the things that I have. And I'm cognizant of that. And I'm not trying to hide that. Um, I'm very grateful for that and appreciative of it. And I'm aware of, you know, that it it makes me um it can make me sound hypocritical in that sense.

And I I I tussled with that a lot when putting the song on this record cuz I didn't want people to be like, "Look at this big blowh hard telling me how to, you know, think about my life or whatever." Like, I'm not trying to tell anybody how to feel um in any way on on that song or on this record. And I think for me though, there are these moments in life where I am, you know, you say the sky is blue, grass is green.

I remember that day. We text was a baby and we're living in our house like an hour from Nashville at that time. We've since moved and it was just beautiful outside and it was like my beautiful wife is there, my kid is there and my career is going really well and I'm just really thankful. It's almost just like there are these days to me that like you can't put your finger on like why they're so great. You're still surrounded by the things that you have and the people that you love in the same way that you were yesterday in the same way that you will be the next day, but it's like everything just lines up and it's like you just you're almost on this like high of life.

like it's the birds are singing and the temperature, you know, it's, you know, it's like the weather's like that every day here, by the way. You know, I forget it's January when I'm here. It's spectacular. spectacular. spectacular. Yeah, it's unbelievable. And it's like, you know, it's like these bluebird days and you know, your f everything's just hitting on the same wavelength for what I don't really even know how to describe it, but that was my mindset writing days like these. It wasn't about I live in a nice house or I have this thing.

It was like it wouldn't have mattered where we were or what we were doing. It was just everything in the universe lined up that day for it to be like these this perfect day. And it's not the first one I've had and it's not the last one I'll have. But damn it if they aren't few and far between and and damn it if I didn't wish they came around more often, you know? and you just I love those days and they're so rare and they're just that song to me totally captured that moment in time um so perfectly, you know, and I just love those days and I think that there's nothing that I owned or nothing that I bought or nothing that I could buy or nothing that I could do that could recreate that feeling.

So regardless of the situation that I'm in now, there's no doubt that that money helps with those things. There's no doubt. I don't want to sound like you guys like, "Well, it don't matter if you got that's the bridge of the song Rich Man is, you know, I I say that in the bridge of that song is like, well, you know, it ain't no secret having money is nice, you know, but making a living don't make a life, you know, and I believe that." And I know that's easy for me to say, so I don't want anyone to out there to think that I'm, you know, discounting the fact that I have I have it way better than a lot of people.

I'm I'm painfully aware of that and I struggle with that to be quite honest. Yeah, I I appreciate you saying that part of just, you know, how you can walk around, especially when beautiful things happen to you and you totally I couldn't agree with you more that it's not that you don't want to have beautiful things happen to you. You just want it to happen to a lot more people. For sure. For sure. For sure. And and you want beautiful things to happen to everyone around you.

You want beautiful things to happen to strangers that you've never met. Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. Because that's that's the joy of it. It's only beautiful if more and more people get that. 100% 100% you know it is man it's a it's a crazy world out there man it's hard it's hard man it's really really hard you know and uh you you know when you're in you know the position guys like us are in man like we're so lucky you know and you just have to like I do everything in my power to to give that feeling back to other people whether it's people that work with me or giving money to charity or whatever it may be or volunteering me going to sing at something like any way I can give back, I always try to do that any chance that I have because that's just something my mother instilled in me at a young age.

You know, we know, we know, we I grew up working at the food bank in Asheville. She would take me over there and we would work at the food bank and you know, she's explaining what this is and what this place is. And you know, that at the time made me like, "Wow, man." Like, you know, this makes me really thankful for, you know, everything we got. And you know, I can't imagine going home and opening up the cabinet. There's nothing in there. you know, there's no can of corn in there.

You know, I couldn't imagine that feeling. And um so she she forced me to do that when I was younger. And I'm I'm thankful for that. Um because, you know, she's still doing things like that. You know, she still goes out and works at the you know, at the animal shelter, at the food bank, and in Nashville. And um you know I I got to go from that to you know after Helen you know that ravaged the part of the country that I grew up in.

And when we put on the benefit concert in Charlotte my portion of the proceeds part of my portions of the proceeds rebuilt the entire food bank that I worked at growing up. It was completely destroyed. Like completely gone. And I got to watch my success and influence have the ability to do something that great and rebuild their entire facility. And that is like something that's you can't even put words on. And like the amount of pride I have in that is immense. you know, like my most proud moment of my career from here on out and forever will be, you know, the show that we did that night and getting to see these charities send me videos and emails and here's what we did and here's how this worked and here's how this happened and it's just cool to get to be a part of that, you know, and it's not I I don't come at it from it's not like an egotistical pursuit.

It's just like you get to like watch the money that you raised. You get to watch, you know, people be directly impacted by these things that we got to do. And I I owe all that to my team, you know, and I owe all that to everyone else. Like I always say like I'm the guy that works the least amount. Like I am I have the easiest job in the whole thing. Like I think um obviously I do a lot of things. I'm in a lot of places.

is I go to a lot of different things and I'm constantly working. But when you love it, it doesn't feel that way. And I I'm just grateful for everyone else on my team that allows me, you know, they're, you know, they get to be a billboard for me when they're out, you know, meeting, even if I'm in there, you know, getting touched up before this thing and they're talking to you and you're like, man, well, these people are nice. So, I really do believe it's top down.

you know, I try to be great and give my team the ability to be great because we work in a good environment. We respect each other and that transfers, man. And people can feel that. I think people can feel that energy when when you're around. And um that's my biggest point of pride is when we're at a show, whether it's the stadium stadium stadium or we're going and doing a club gig for, you know, we did a we played a club gig last year, first time in 5 years, and it was wild.

There's like like 850 people in the Georgia theater in Athens and like a venue we used to play and like it felt like the biggest venue in the world and you go back and when I'm walking through the halls backstage or whatever like even the people working the doors or like they'll say to me your your team is the best team we've ever worked with. Like everyone was so kind and so gracious and they communicated so well and they were all professional and they were all in great spirits and like to me that is like that's the legacy I want to leave behind is like sure I had a lot of success.

Sure, I had a bunch of hit records and sold a lot of tickets and sold a lot of t-shirts or whatever, but all that be damned. Like, you know, my headstone, you know, here lies good man, good dad, good husband, good friend, good son, good boss. Like, that's the things that I want to be remembered for. And so, I live every day trying to make those happen to the best of my ability. Yeah, that's beautiful, man. And I was thinking of a good example that you didn't mention.

I saw a video of you starting a concert or at one point in a concert basically saying, "Guys, I'm not feeling well today. I'm still going to do the show, but we're going to give you a refund and all your tickets." And I'm like, "Dude, you did the show. Like it was like you showed up. You did the show, but you didn't you were like, "I'm not going to be my best or something like that." I was like, "Wow, that's amazing." that's amazing." that's amazing." I remember is it was uh it was in Maine is where it was we did two nights in Banger Maine and the first night that's show was great run-of-the-mill show which and by run-of-the-mill I mean we had a great time was great it's fun we got buddies in town but the particular that venue is wonderful by the way um and we were backstage and they have great like they have a fire pit going and they're bringing you out food and like all the employees are so nice and it's just great atmosphere to hang out in.

And so we had some friends in town um and you know up having some cocktails, but we were all outside. I'm talking two or three times as loud as I normally was cuz we're playing music. We're having some drinks. We're staying up late. up late. up late. And the next day I wake up and I'm like, man, my voice is like just a little like it's just a little rough, you know? Like not my worst morning I've had like by a long shot. And I know I I've done that enough times to know how it goes and know how it's progressing.

And so as the day went on, I'm like I'm like, "Well, man, this isn't like progressing the way it normally does. Like it doesn't feel like it's getting much better." So I don't know, I guess maybe around 2 or 3:00 I call my manager and I'm like, "Hey, "Hey, "Hey, this ain't going so hot. I'm starting to get a little bit worried cuz we have the show tonight." And I said, "Could you I and I've done this maybe twice ever. once was in Australia. This was the second time.

I said I I was like, I need to get a steroid shot to do the show tonight. And I hate doing that. If you're a any kind of singer, you should not get those cuz they're horrible for your voice in the long run. Don't It's not something you should be doing a lot. Um it should be an absolute emergency parachute situation, which it was for me cuz I'm like, well, everyone's here. I get the steroid shot. I'm like, okay, I'm going to be good. I'm going to get through this.

A couple hours goes by, I go to do my warm-ups. I do my warm-ups. Let's say we're on at 9:00. I'll do my warm-ups at 8. It's 20 minutes, 25 minutes, and then I'll join the band and we all hang out, have some drinks, get together, whatever. And I get 5 minutes into my warm-up. And obviously, I mean, everyone's already played, dude. Like, the first of three is played, direct support's already done. Like, people are just waiting for me to come out at this point. I get five minutes into my warm-up and I call my manager.

I'm like, "Dude, I'm not going to be able to sing tonight." And he was like, "What do you mean?" I was like, "I don't know, man. Steroid shot like it it didn't work. Like, it worked the first time I got it." I was like, "It didn't work. It didn't do enough. Like, I physically am not going to be able to do it enough." And so, we were having conversations. Well, what's the options? You know, he's like, he's like, "Well, we'll just cancel it. We're just that's what we do." And I was like, "No, dude.

That's what everyone else does. Like, we're not doing that. Like I'm not these people are here, dude. Like this is those concerts, man. Like concerts are expensive and I'm aware of that. Like I have so much respect for how hard people work and things they sacrifice to come and see me play because I used to be one of those people. You know, I would work all summer to save up to go see one concert and it was a big event, man. It wasn't just, oh, this is the thing I'm doing tomorrow.

It was like, I'm building my whole summer around this one night, you know? And I know there's hundreds of people, thousands of people, you know, a thousand yards away from me that have done the same thing. And I can't live with the idea that they are going to be let down. And they're sure as hell not going to be let down by somebody else that isn't me. So I told Cappy, I said, "Listen, dude." I said, "I'm going out there and I'm telling them like," and he's like, "What do you what do you mean?" And I'm like, "I'm going out there and I'm telling him on the microphone that I I can't do the show." And I said, "Me and the band, we'll play for an hour." I said, "We'll play all the hits.

I'll sing the best I can, but like we're just going to refund everybody's money." And he's like, "I'm in, dude. Like, whatever whatever you want to do, let's do it, you know?" And he said, "Who cares about the money? Like, doesn't matter. We'll get we'll all refund it. So, go out." And usually we have like, you know, there's the big intro song and like the video and all that stuff. I'm like, "We got to kill this, dude. Like, we're not doing the hype up video." And then I'm walking out telling them we're not playing.

playing. playing. Yeah. Yeah. So, I walk out and I remember being like so somber and like my heart rate is just through the roof. I'm like so nervous cuz I've never done anything like this before. And I remember saying it like, "Hey guys, I'm not going to be able to do the show tonight." And it's like just raining down booze, man. Like it's just people are brutalizing me. Oh, wow. Oh, wow. Oh, wow. And like as I feel like they have the right to do like I would be pissed too, right?

Like Mr. Big Time comes out here and tells me he's not going to do the thing or whatever. And I go, "But wait." I was like, "Before you guys get upset, like I'm still we're still going to play the show. It's just not going to be as good as I feel like it needs to be for me to take money from you and use it for the betterment of my life or my team. Like, you deserve, you know, you spent all this money to be here and you've got hotel rooms and babysitters and like I can't make that right.

So, I still want to give you the show. I'm just not going to take the money from the tickets." like and and I just just so this is just free show, but it's just not going to be as good of a show as I feel like you deserve for all the sacrifices that you've made to be here. And we played for probably an hour, hour 15 and we played all the hits and I sang the best I could and the crowd sang and it was a really cool night.

It was really stressful and man, I got to give it up to my fans. Like a lot of fans reached out to me and they were like, "Hey man, I donated my refund because like we loved the show and we thought it was still great and we appreciate you being a standup guy and we just wanted to we just felt like it was wrong to take the refund." Now, not everybody did that and I can understand that. I wouldn't be mad if nobody donated their refund, you know.

Um but then we came back I think it was 2 years later we came back like scheduling was crazy but we came back and did a night there. We were like doing stadiums and then we came back and did the little amphitheater and banger and uh it was cool, man. That's awesome, man. Great story, you know. Great. Turned into a great story. I was very stressed about that. I can imagine. But that's I can imagine. But that's awesome. I I love I'm so glad you told me that story cuz I just saw the clip like on social media that I'd seen and I I thought, "Wow, that's incredible." But now to hear the backstory behind it, I mean, you know, earlier you were talking about your wife.

You've been together for 10 years now, thereabouts. Um, it's mine and my wife's 10 year wedding anniversary this year. Been together 13 years. That's awesome. That's awesome. That's awesome. And so, it's fun when you've lived that life with someone. How did How did you guys meet? guys meet? guys meet? We met uh she was she actually was living in Nashville. I was living in Nashville. We had met in passing a few times. Um, not not many, not more than five minutes here and there like, but we kind of had some of the same friend group.

Like, you know, think of like the vin diagram. There's like a couple people in the middle. you know, we all know a bunch of different folks and stuff. So, stuff. So, stuff. So, met like that and uh she worked at B uh BMI, which is a huge I'm sure you know what that is for those of you that don't, a performance rights organization that um you know just collects and distributes royalties to songwriters. Um and that's how they get paid for the most part. Um there's a few organizations that do it.

BMI is the biggest one and she was working there at the time. She did kind of like specialized like HR work there. BMI also puts on a songwriting festival in Key West. Uh the Nashville branch puts on one in Key West and it's called the BMI um Key West Songwriters Festival. It's every year. So much fun. So their whole office like shuts down like the I mean it's like I can't tell you how many people work. They're probably in the hundreds and they all just kind of go to the Keys and help out with events or just hang out or whatever, you know?

It's not like a stressful work week. And you know, maybe it is for one or two people, but the rest of them are kind of chilling and having a good time. And so they invite around 200 songwriters down there, all like kind of in the country space. Um, and it's cool because BMI, you know, they foot the bill for your flight. They put you up in a hotel. Like it's an all expense kind of paid like trip to Key West and you play a couple songwriters rounds and fans come and it's it's really fun.

It's really killer. Like if you love country music, if you love songwriting, you have to go. Um, it's really, really great. So, it's my first year going to that. I was probably the last guy picked to go. I have no publishing deal, no record deal. Um, and my buddy Channing Wilson, who uh is fantastic, he was going down there. I remember me and him were having lunch and he was like, he's like, "Man, why don't you come down to Key West, dude?" And I was like, "Well, it's like I didn't get invited, you know?" So, he called up his rep at BMI and was like, "Hey, I'm eating lunch with this Luke Holmes guy." And they I had had a meeting over there with them.

when I was there and they were like, "Yeah, man. Like, he can just room with you or whatever." So, I was like, "Hell yeah." So, I was pumped up. Get down there, run into her at an event and kind of hung out like for the evening with friends and stuff like spent a couple hours together um hanging with friends and stuff. And then once I came home, we made plans to get together like a couple weeks after I got home. uh we ended up staying in touch via text or whatever and made some plans to uh made some plans to get together and just been dating ever since, man.

Like it was just crazy. You know what I mean? Like she didn't have any reason to think I was cool at all, man. Like I was wearing a t-shirt and gym shorts when I ran into her and was like she was like working two jobs like making a killing and I got like nothing going on at all. Um she just thought I was cool for whatever reason. So, I thought that was pretty awesome. So, um it worked out, man. And it was great cuz she's been there with me, you know, since the beginning.

Um and you know, seen me through a lot and you know, we made it through the whole rise together and all the craziness together. And um she's the best, dude. I mean, you know, I mean, she really is. Like, I can't imagine like I I wouldn't be here without her, you know? I'd have there's 10 hit songs that I wouldn't have written, you know, because I wrote them about her, you know. Um, so I'm very very thankful for her, man. And she's a great mom and she's a great wife and a great friend and um, she's just a great person.

So I'm I'm very blessed to have that like connection with her, man. Like that's been a huge huge positive light in my life. Like having her is, you know, she's one of the biggest reasons for my success certainly. How how did you know she was the one? It's funny as you say this like everyone's like well it's like oh let you know like immediately like it's for love at first sight kind of thing and you know I I think that sometimes maybe does a disservice to to the seriousness of like a relationship of like the level that me and my wife have.

We have grown together, you know, we have become adults together. We become parents together. We've lived together. Like that's not something that happens overnight. Like sure there are those feelings like those inherent feelings of like lust or attraction. Like I think sometimes that people can confuse that for like this love at first sight thing and they're like this is the person that I have to be with because I'm so attracted to them and like sure the physical connection is really necessary but the emotional connection I think we forget sometimes in today's day and age that that is like it's like a plant dude.

It's not something that that grows up overnight dude. Like it's something that takes nurturing. It takes, you know, you got to water it, you got to trim it, you got like you'd have to be doing maintenance to this thing. And when you do that together, it it you grow better together, you know, and there is no like this is when I knew like I knew that I was very attracted to her and I knew that she was a great person and I knew that I wanted to spend more and more and more time with her.

every time I spent time with her. And so I would say that like it just ne there was never any moment where I was like maybe this isn't the person I should be with. You know what I mean? She never she never gave me that. There was never this thought of like well maybe this isn't you know it was like there was never any questioning it. So So So maybe I do did always know but maybe I just wasn't smart enough to to see that at the time.

But I think the connection that we've grown over the years is is the beautiful part of it, you know, and it's like it only gets better with time. It's like wine or something, you know what I mean? Like it's probably pretty good right out of the barrel, but then when it's, you know, 10 years old, it's a whole different story. And then 20 years old and 30 and 40 and so on and so forth. It's it's a really cool thing, man. And it's it's a blessing to get to experience life with somebody in that way and have somebody to share your triumphs with and your the peaks and the valleys and all of these difficult things.

Like my OCD stuff, she's very supportive of all that. And it's like she's always supporting me. She's never bringing me down. You know what I mean? Like she doesn't take no [ __ ] from me. And that's important as well. But it's like but that's cool to me, man. Like it's, you want somebody that's willing to just do whatever I say all the time. That's not I don't want to get it twisted that that's the way it is cuz it ain't that. Like she's the boss, bro. Like she is the boss and like that's cool to me, man.

Like I like that. Like I like her being like getting her advice on like songs or getting her advice on merch. Like she has such an eye for that so much more so than I do. And like we've done all these cool like merch collections where it's like the Luke and Nicole thing. and it's like her deal and she does the photo shoots and like she's doing all the merch and like letting her like I I just trust her implicitly with that like with not just with me as a man and as a husband but like even with my brand and like my business and like she's not someone that like I'm ever worried about like embarrassing me or like you know what I mean and and not that she ever even could but like it's just like having this high level of like trust and respect for her.

I like to think that she has that for me, too. But it's nice on my end to to have that and feel that. It's a very comforting thing to know. It's like, you know, when you go home, there's this person that's like regardless of everything else is like on your team no matter what, you know, and that's that's cool. What did she see in you before you saw it in yourself, brother? I got no idea. If I knew, I'd be selling it. How about that? If I knew what it was, man, I would be bottling it up and putting it on the internet.

Um, you could Amazon it right now if I knew what it was, cuz there's some magic in there. That's the new thing. Yeah, dude. Yeah, dude. Yeah, dude. Nicole's potion. Nicole's potion. Nicole's potion. Yeah. Luke's whatever it was, dude. I tell you what, it wasn't uh it wasn't my model like figure by any chance by any stretch of the imagination. Um I don't know. You know, I I haven't really considered that. I've thought about it a bunch of times. Like I'm like, "Oh gosh, I don't know." Like I remember I remember my dad saying to me one time like I think I had this crush on like a girl in high school or something.

I was kind of like asking my dad for like advice on it and I was like man like I just like I'm like this is kind of cool or whatever. I'm like why is this going on? He's like I'll never forget this. He was like hey sometimes son you just don't ask questions. And it was like I was like okay. And so when it was like when it comes to that stuff, I'm like maybe I don't want to know. You know what I mean? I'm just like whatever, you know?

And so I just think sometimes when things are good, you don't really have to know why. Um you know, I think you can, you know, then you can maybe you can ruin something like that. I don't I'm not sure. But um I I don't know. I mean, I think that, you know, I like to think maybe that she could tell that I'm a good person. Yeah, I think. And um you know I think that you know now she knows that you know I've got her back.

She's got mine. You know she you know her and the kids are number one and like I'm doing stuff for them and but obviously that wasn't happening when we met. Like it wasn't like we had kids together you know but I think you know I think she could just tell like well maybe this guy's like different than other guys that I've met. I'm not sure you know. Um maybe she dated a bunch of losers. I don't know. You know what I mean? I mean I'm not sure you know.

Um, but no, she she she's rad, dude. But I don't know. I Does she ever roast you? Oh, bro. All the time. Yeah, my wife roasts me all the time. All the time, dude. She rips me apart. And it's like it's awesome. What would she say if she was here and she was roasting you? What would she say? say? say? I'm trying to think. She's like She picks on She's like She's She's like, "You're nerdy." She's like, "You're you're like definitely a nerd." She definitely thinks I'm nerdy.

I like to play video games. And she's like, "Oh god." like, you know, she like lets me do it. She's like, "Do whatever you want." But she's like, "I'm not I'm not going to not call you a nerd while you're playing video games on, you know, like it's just that kind of stuff, man. She just doesn't let me get away with anything, you know, in in a good way. In a playful way, you know, for real though, don't let me get away with nothing either." But like, she can also be super playful.

And um she knows herself, man. She's so confident in herself and she's so confident in like in us and our family and like I think that's really cool. It's really attractive, man, to like have someone that is so confident in themselves. And I've learned a ton from her, man. I've learned a ton about, you know, being just, you know, proud of who I am and, you know, having, you know, these kind of strong convictions and not being afraid to speak your mind and not being afraid to say the things that you, you know, the things that you believe in and share your opinions.

I mean, you know, I was I was not as apt to do that until I met her and she helped me, you know. Also, the thing uh one of the this is a sleeper pick for favorite is a this is a sleeper pick for favorite thing about her is like I I wasn't a a picky eater as you can probably tell. Um I was not a picky eater growing up. Um but I was a little bit like if I didn't like something I was like completely out on it.

Like I'm like don't like it. Mushrooms hate it. Mustard hate it. Like all there was a lot of things that I didn't like. And she really was like you know you ought to like try stuff now. You know what I mean? like you're just kind of like she's like mushrooms are good and mustard is good and I'm like no it's terrible. I've hated it since I was a kid and you know it's just little and I know that's such a funny thing to like out out out but like mushrooms are like probably one of my top five favorite foods ever now and like I would have probably never tried them tried them tried them if it wasn't for her and I love mustard now.

now. now. all these things like and it's just that's a small example of a bigger picture of like she's just helped me become more confident in myself and challenging me and pushing me to do things that are hard and pushing me to do and encouraging me to do things that are difficult that normally I would have you know faltered at before and um she's just like you know she's she's like she's my homie dude you know she's the best best best I love that I look forward to meeting her she sounds awesome She is.

She sounds awesome. You You sing in your song, The Way I Am. I'm sorry, baby. I really try to change. It's like there's something broken in my brain. The more I try to fix it, the less I understand, but you still love me just the way I am. And I'm like, it's like uh yeah, that song rips, man. I I didn't write that song. And that's why I love it so much is like that statement so perfectly fits, you know, a lot of the themes of my life, the the OCD stuff, you know.

Um, and that was a a friend of mine wrote that with another another great songwriter in Nashville. And um, when I heard it, it was just it was so sonically different than anything that's coming out of town right now. I mean, there's nothing like that song coming out right now. It's a very stereotypical country sound, but probably from 40 years ago. years ago. years ago. And that's kind of what drew me to it is like it just felt like this kind of moment that was unexpected, unexpected, unexpected, not just from me, but from anyone really.

Um, it's very slow. It's way too long. It's got a just straight up steel guitar solo. Like old steel guitar, not like cool steel guitar like that's in like, you know, some like poppy song. Like it is like straight up like tears like some George Jones would be singing, you know? And not that I'm that, but it's like it's like it's like lyrically I resonated with it so much already. And then sonically it was just so different. And it was like I mean it felt like an absolute like layup of a song to do.

I just felt like I feel like it's going to be a big moment for people and I think that that's why ultimately I chose that song as the title for this record is it it just like you know it's just it really does just that that's I'm so okay with the way that I am now honestly at risk of sounding ironic you know um it's like I I at 35 I obviously don't have life all the way figured figured out. But I'm as comfortable, if not more comfortable in my skin than I've ever been.

I feel like my mental health is way higher than it's ever been. My mindset, my outlook, um, is all so great and I just, you know, I have so many people to thank for that. Um, you know, my wife, obviously, my kids have helped a ton. Um, and just great friends, great teammates, great band members, great, you know, collaborators and great, you know, everybody just does so much for me, you know, and and that's kind of, you know, that's made me into the way that I am, you know, and that's just that title in of itself really I felt like encapsulated encapsulated encapsulated um, you know, the message I was trying to say with this album is, you know, this is this is where I am now, whether that's musically or as a And I'm just excited.

I'm excited for people to hear this record. I haven't done like a commercial project in like almost 4 years now. And um it's time and I I just, you know, I hope it's as received as I I want it to be. Um and if it's not, it's okay, you know. Um but you just have to put, you know, what you feel like is your best foot forward and um you just have to be willing to live with with the results of that no matter what. what.

what. Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. And I'm more okay with that now than I've ever been. Yeah. And that going away for 4 years was important. was important. was important. It was. Yeah. And it was like, you know, it's not like I retired, but it was like we really backed the touring stuff down. Like last year, I didn't have my own tour for the first time in ever since I started. Uh, and that was weird. Um, it was really fun because all we did was these big festivals, you know, and so the festivals are fun.

They're a different challenge than especially the stuff we did this year. you know, we did Bonaroo, La Palooa, Newport Folk Festival, Austin City Limits, like crowds that we would normally never step in front of. And so I was I really looked forward to that challenge, you know, getting with my band leader and making set lists that were different for every one of these shows and going, how do we meet this crowd in the do we how do we meet this crowd in the middle? You know what I mean?

Like as much as I there was to half the set I wanted to come out and kick the door down and play honky tonk [ __ ] like country stuff like I wanted to do that and we did that. But I also wanted to say I'm also willing to meet you where you're at a little bit and like help you understand not just me but that our genre in general is is not just this stereotype of it's it's not some caricature of like this thing. It's like it's like it's something that you can love too.

And maybe you don't know that. And maybe tonight is not the night that you fully understand that. But hopefully tonight makes you even be at the inception of maybe I could love country music and maybe in 20 years we're finally where I think we need to be. Not not exclusively because of me, but that moment helps a couple people have that epiphany or experience. and and you know, the betterment of the genre is something that is really important to me, you know, and and letting people know it's like, hey, man, like we're here, like we're like we're more popular than we've ever been now, and it ain't stopping anytime soon.

anytime soon. anytime soon. And I want to do my part to be a part of that future and and help out the genre like in regardless of what that means for me personally or my success, you know? I mean, a lot of those shows I I lost money doing those shows. I took a lot less money than I usually would to get the slot because I wanted to be able to go and do that. Um I hope some people felt that on those nights. Um but they were a lot of fun.

We we sure enjoyed them and the crowds were just amazingly like welcoming and warm. Um which was really cool, man. cuz I was nervous, you know, like not nervous like I don't want to go out there, but just like gosh, man, like man, like you could really fall on your face out here and it would be tough night if like it doesn't go well, you know, like if you're not wellreceived headlining Austin City Limits, like that'd be tough or like you come out in Bonnaroo and you're headlining and it's like people aren't into it.

Be pretty crushing night. It could be like a pretty crushing night if it doesn't go well, well, well, you know? So I I but they at least everyone made me feel like they went well and maybe they didn't but I felt like my perception was that they went really well and I I enjoyed it. Yeah, dude. I can relate cuz I get asked to teach meditation in all these places like random places that you would expect. So I did I did a meditation on mainstage at Bonaroo a few years back.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And everyone was just like wanting the main act to come out and it's like you're having to get everyone into a zone before they experience the thing they want to experience. And it's like the pressure of that and thankfully it went okay. It wasn't, you know, everyone everyone everyone was surprisingly quiet. It was impressive. Wow. Wow. Wow. Uh but it was, you know, it I I my world's very different to yours, but it's that same pressure of just like how do you get people at this music festival, festival, festival, right, right, right, to be quiet?

Absolutely the opposite. But But But it's like the antithesis of why they're there. there. there. Totally. But when people do it, what's fascinating when it's worked is the music that comes after it, everyone's senses are like ready for it because they've gone they've gone they've gone almost gives them a moment to like reset. Totally. reset. Totally. reset. Totally. It's like sniffing the coffee beans at Yankee candle before you smell the other candle. You know, you're like, I've smelled all these great candles and now I don't even know what this candle smells like.

So, you have the you're the coffee beans. Like, yeah, I'm the coffee bean that no one knows they need and then they smell them and they're like, I'm glad I smelled those coffee. That's how I'm going to explain it. Next time mama stays. That's That's what I'm going to do. do. do. There's here comes your coffee endorsement right here. Yeah, I'm the coffee. I love that. It's coming. That's awesome. This is This is a good moment cuz we put together because everyone said how much fun you were.

We were like, we'll put together a fun game for you. We do this for special guests. So, this one was done for you. This game is called the Everyday Guy Test. Test. Test. So, we're going to see whether you fail or pass the test. Obviously, it's all for fun. Uh, I I'm just putting it out there right now that I would fail this test. So, there's I may be honest. So, here we go. The Everyday Guy test. At a restaurant, do you order tap or filter water?

filter water? filter water? Let me tell you what, I didn't grow up going to restaurants where they even asked what kind of There was no water choice. Like, that's a to me that's a whole new world for me. Um, but they they're like they'll come up and they're like, "Was it do is tap okay or like or bottled or still or I'm like how many choices are there? How many waters do you have?" You know, it's like would you like it boxed or bottled or decanted and like like just water would be great.

I usually my answer to that question is whatever is easiest for you. Yeah. whatever's the easiest cuz to me it's just all water kind of like I'm not a guy that's of the belief that like 9.5 pH water is going to make a difference to be quite honest and it probably does and that may be my downfall at some point but I'm like hey whatever makes your night less of a hassle for me I love that just just give me that I'm fine with I'm fine with that first thing you can grab get it and I'll drink it I love it uh regular milk or almond milk uh regular Regular milk.

I do like it. I do like an almond milk. I have no beef with an almond milk. Um, but I do I do I would say probably uh if I had to choose regular milk, man. You're not going to beat the creaminess of it. of it. of it. All right. This one I was cracking up when the team put it in there. Do you tip based on math or vibes? Uh oh. Vibes for sure, dude. Vibes for sure. I'm an overtipper. I'm like an over tipper.

I'm one of those. I'm like I'm like Yeah. Like we go out to a nice meal, 100 bucks. Like great. like, you know, depending upon the place, of course, but it's like I I always try to overtip, man. I'm I'm just grateful for anybody, you know, that works in the service industry. I I you know, I know how difficult it is um you know, dealing with the public and not everybody's so great. Not that I'm so great, but I try to just be, you know, I it's just another version of like passing along the blessings that you have to someone else and and being grateful.

You're winning right now, man. This is amazing. You're be you're beating this game. Like this game is losing, guys. Uh let's let's do a few more. Uh last time you went to the grocery store? grocery store? grocery store? Uh last week. Okay. Okay. Okay. I go every week. At least twice a week. Choice of grocery store. Is there specific? specific? specific? Uh okay. You're going to like this one. I like a Publix. It's the closest one to me. In the same shopping center I got a Sprouts.

Sprouts. Sprouts. Nice. Nice. Nice. So if I'm going like if I'm going strictly food, I'm probably going to Sprouts. Uh, paper goods, Diet Coke. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, I'm going to Publix, you know what I mean? Uh, I love a Publix. I love a Pub Sub. Sub. Sub. Uh, but I love a Sprouts, man. It's like a a a I love Sprouts. It's like a less stressful Whole Foods, you know what I mean? Like you go in and you're not like feeling like you're in the way.

You know what I mean? I went to this Arowan place. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. You want to spend $60 on something going to that place, dude. I mean, it's nice in there. It is like if you had a different variant of OCD, you would love that place cuz everything is like there's not a speck of dust in that place. You know what I mean? But if there was, you would have to pay for it probably cuz it is not cheap. I'll tell you that much.

Uh, but great. Great. So good. So good. Do you pack your own clothes or does someone pack for you? Bro, I pack my own stuff, dude. Nobody packing for me, dude. I'm a grown ass man, dude. I'm packing my bag. Oh god. All right, last one. Last one. This one's uh the last time you Venmo requested someone. requested someone. requested someone. Oh gosh. Let me look. It's probably been a while. Venmo request. Yeah, it's probably been quite some time, I would say. Let me see. I can pop it up here.

I I just I'm now I'm genuinely curious. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know that I've requested Venmo for I've paid people on Venmo a lot, but actually requesting I don't even know that I would even have one to be quite honest. I've only used I I've got Vinmoed. Vinmoed. Vinmoed. My buddy sent me a Vinmo for some deer stands. As redneck as that is, that's my last Vinmo thing. But I can't even find a time that I Vinmoed someone else for something. something. something. Nice. Nice.

Nice. Cuz I feel like a lot of the times, like I'm not a guy like listen dude, if you're going out to eat with me, like I'm paying like I'm paying. Like I'm not a guy that's like, "Wol, you know, just send me Venmo me $20 for the check or whatever." Like, um, so yeah, not not any Venmo request for me. You passed the test. The everyday guy test. test. test. I survived. I survived. I survived. You're the everyday survived. Yeah, you you killed that. Your answers are amazing.

I was like, we need to we need to test a few more people on this. You should have been like, what kind of wrench would you need? A spanning wrench or you know what I mean? Like I thought it was going to be like, what kind of diameter? Yeah. I'm like, "Oh, boy." I wouldn't know the answer. Yeah. I was, Trust me, I wouldn't either. I wish I was handier than I am. My dad is very handy, but I I'm I did not get that gene, man.

My dad was not handy, so I'm not handy. Like, you you missed out there. I can I can do it a little bit, but not to the level I would like to. I would love to be able to like take an engine apart and just be like, "Yeah, it would just build." just build." just build." Wouldn't that be amazing, dude? People that do that are geniuses, man. I don't care what anybody says, dude. That stuff is so hard, man. My mind is not like uh like math is not great for me.

Um it just takes me a lot of time to do. Um I I know how to do it. The basic stuff obviously, but like dude, anything past division and multiplication, I'm like, "Oh, you're speaking Chinese, dude. I have no idea." idea." idea." You know, I got We got people for that. You know what I mean? Uh and I'm glad that's the way the world is. You get somebody that's good at that. I do the thing I'm good at. You do the thing you're good at. Totally.

community. Bing, bang, right there. there. there. And everyone wins. Yeah. And everybody wins. Everybody's happy. happy. happy. All right. Finish finish the sentence on these ones. As first thing that comes to your mind, the thing I take way too seriously is seriously is seriously is uh video games. Which games? Which games? Which games? Uh Battlefield 6 recently has been kind of my uh that's kind of been my thing recently. Uh like NCAA football. I'm a big football guy. Take that way too seriously. Um yeah, definitely video games.

Are you playing online? Are you playing? playing? playing? I play online. No, I'm not playing NCAA online. It's too sweaty. Like everybody's too good. You know, there's people obviously I don't take it seriously enough because I'm god awful online. Um, but that's just really playing against my buddies, but like man, you talk about like I'm been out of shape. Like I lose I'm it's like affecting my day to some extent and I lose a lot. So I'm not very good. So maybe I probably shouldn't take it too seriously, but I do.

I love it. Uh, the pettiest thing I've done recently. done recently. done recently. Oh, it's all gonna be practical joke, like joke related. Like, um, me and my buddies are just we just shred each other all the time. Uh, I mean, it's hard to to pick a particular one, but like like like the jokes can be like the jokes can be like sometimes like when we have like me and my friends, we're so comfortable around each other and like we all kind of have a similar sense of humor and we all like know how it operates.

Sometimes I have to forget like when we're around people that don't know us at all or that have just met us and we're in like full friendship like joking mode that I'm like like like maybe these people don't maybe we should just a little bit dial it back because people are going to think we're weird dude or they're going to be like these guys are complete [ __ ] to each other or something and it's like it's all love but it's from if you didn't know us you might be like man these guys are ruthless.

You know what I mean? Me and my boys the same. Like sometimes I just got to back it off like forget that not everyone knows has known us for 20 years. Yeah. My wife has to be like no personal jokes like like you're not allowed to make when your guy friends are don't make it around other people. If there's if it's just close friends. Let's avoid all the like all the jokes about each other. Yeah. That's that's my pettiness right there. Uh my guilty pleasure artist or song is Ooh.

Um, right now it's Olivia Dean is my gosh, her voice is so good, man. That's not like something people probably think I'm listening to, but the melodies are so good, man. It's like there's like some uh there's like some Amy Winehouse stuff going on there, which loved her, man. Unbelievable. There's some like early John Legend stuff going on, like female John Legend vibes, like when he was really rocking the piano. like the albums were realcentric. realcentric. realcentric. Uh he had that the album another again was like a soundtrack to like probably like my junior of high school and when I heard the Olivia Dean record for the first time.

My wife put me on to that I was like this is like like I felt like I was listening to another again like all over like for the first time and I loved that vibe of that album. Like I think her record it also came out at such a great time. Like and by time I mean like winter fall like it's that kind of like it's like holiday adjacent like feeling like that piano like good like it just feels good to listen to. Um so I'm I'm really I'm really really vibing on that hard lately.

I love that. Uh two more of these. Which fellow country star would you call to help you bury a dead body? Oh man. Fellow country. Uh probably Craig Morgan. Okay. Uh Craig is like ex-military. ex-military. ex-military. Uh he's like one of the most wild dudes I know. Uh and he'd be so happy to like help you. He's like the sweetest guy in the world. But like if you crossed him, I would be so afraid of like what potentially could happen. Um, and like he's a guy call like, "Hey man, like I need you to come over here." And he'd be like, "Well, heck, buddy.

I'll be right over there." You know, and he'd get over and just he'd be like, "What do I what do we do with that?" And he's like, "Oh, man. I've done that tons of times, man." You know, like he's just like he's done everything. Like he's like he knows how to do everything. Like he's like the perfect like man's man guy. Like he's the sweetest dude ever. And I feel like he just wouldn't ask any questions. He'd be like, "Man, well, let's get it done, buddy." You know, and he's he's awesome.

Yeah. So good. So good. All right. First artist you'd want next to you on a long tour bus ride. Um, okay. Um, probably like Jordan Davis. He has been on tour with me a couple times and I feel like we're just really we have like a similar vibe. Like our crews are similar. Like his relationship with like his team and his buddies I feel like is very similar to mine. Um, and I he's I mean he's a family guy. Like great dad. Um, another guy that I feel like is like that is not a country artist.

Ed Sheeran is like that, man. Like he's me and him like kind of connected on that level of like we kind of have the same outlook on life a little bit. I feel like and not that we're identical obviously we're very different as an artist, but like like you just pick up on that vibe of like well this guy's like I get that this guy's like like me. The Good Charlotte guys are like that. Benji and Joel Madden to me are like two of my favorite.

had dinner with them last night and I have dinner with them every time I'm in LA and they're like I mean two of the best guys like I've ever met, dude. Like and I just like I I love finding those people you have that kind of like just connection with that kind of goes beyond like words sometimes like this like I this guy gets me, I get this guy, we get each other like we're just we just like the we're just vibing, dude. like we're just bros like from the second we met.

And Jordan was like that. Ed was like that and Benji and Joel have been like that. Those would be like my picks for guys like if I had to spend a long time with that then it would just be like easy, man. Like there would be no like nothing weird, nothing difficult. Like they're going to just be easy to deal with. Like those would be my guys. my guys. my guys. That sounds like a great tour bus. Be fun. Be fun. Be fun. Oh Luke, you've been so much fun, man.

Like I felt like I've learned about you. You've been so thoughtful, profound, hilarious. Appreciate that. Good energy. Like, I've had such a good time getting to know you. I appreciate that. We we we end every interview with a final five. These have to be answered in one sentence maximum. We ask these to every guest. every guest. every guest. Uh so, Luke Combmes, these are your final five. Question one, what is the best advice you've ever heard or received? received? received? Wow, what a profound question. Don't ask questions.

Think back to my dad. Don't ask questions. M second question. What is the worst advice you've ever heard or received? Don't ask questions. That's a good one. Yeah, that's good. That's good. Uh question number three. Describe what it felt like performing Fast Car with Tracy Chapman. Chapman. Chapman. Uh Mount Everest. Like undeniable. Like just just just like almost like out of body. Yeah. I love that. In the future, when your kids are asked about you, how would you hope the first sentence goes? He was the best dad.

Nice. And fifth and final question. We ask this to every guest who's ever been on the show. If you could create one law that everyone in the world had to follow, what would it be? That is wild. I hadn't considered that. I'm sure you get some funny answers. I'm sure you get some serious answers. I would feel like it would it would be um like don't don't pee on the seat. like the airport. Like it already sucks enough, dude. Like, and then when I sit down and you're old piss on the toilet, like it is just that's the end for me.

Like, just come on, dude. Like, don't pee on the seat. And I won't pee on the seat. And we all just We're adults. It's not thating hard to not piss on the seat at the airport. It's already gross to be in there, you know? And don't like it's like like why are we audibly farting in like in like at the urinal like in the like you don't have to you know it's listen if my buddies fart in front of me it's funny dude I think it's really funny my kids fart it's really funny when a stranger farts next to me like just pulls the Jake break at the urinal beside me I'm like this guy's an animal and I respect him but I'm also almost afraid afraid of what he will do in if if he's willing to do this, he's willing to do anything.

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, that is that has to be one of my favorite answers of all time. That is amazing. It is practical. It's important. I fully stand behind it. I fully agree. fully agree. fully agree. I didn't realize how bad it was until I went to other countries and I was like, the bathrooms are so clean. Totally. Totally. Totally. Why? Why are all of our bathrooms disgusting? What does that say about us? And now I I can't unsee it. I can't unsee how clean public bathrooms are in the rest of the world.

And it's I'm not okay with it. We got to we got to stop. I love it. Luke Combmes the way I am. Luke, I'm so excited for everything that you have coming. Thanks. Love getting to know you. You're awesome. Likewise, awesome. Likewise, awesome. Likewise, and wishing you all the best, all the success, all the joy. Thanks for having me, man. Love that you're bringing so much abundance into the world and for others as well. as well. as well. I appreciate that. Yes, sir. Thank you, man.

Thank you. All right. If this is the year that you're trying to get creative, you're trying to build more, I need you to listen to this episode with Rick Rubin. Follow your own inner guide. It directs us. It might not make sight might not make sense to us. Might not make sense to anyone else. Certainly won't make sense to anyone else. And that's okay. It's fine.