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A ‘Hurricane’ rolling in: Rising country star to play at Fayette County Fair

By Tara Rack-Amber for The 4 min read
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Country music’s rising star Luke Combs, will perform at the Fayette County Fair 7 p.m. Aug. 3 on the Lady Luck Stage.

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Luke Comb’s debut single “Hurricane” is currently a platinum-selling multi-week No. 1 hit. His album “This One’s For You,” which contains the popular song, became the top-selling debut from a country artist in 2017 and also achieved the No. 1 position on the country album sales Billboard chart. (Photo courtesy of the artist.)

For breakout country music star, Luke Combs, his path to country music stardom can be compared more to the Autobahn than a windy, country road.

After only pounding the pavement in the haven of country music, Nashville, for three years Combs accomplished a feat that not many musicians have done: have a song rise to such popularity after only being in Nashville for three years.

Combs will bring his style of country music storytelling to the Fayette County Fair 7 p.m. Aug. 3 on the Lady Luck Stage.

Twenty-six-year-old Combs is originally from the Asheville, North Carolina area where he turned his night job as a bar bouncer into the bar’s house entertainment.

“Combs, in college at the time, worked nights as a bouncer at a bar called Town Tavern. He wanted to convert his security gig into that of house entertainment. The manager countered that the noise would disturb the tenant upstairs. Not a problem, Combs said. He lived upstairs,” wrote Cindy Watts of the Tennessean that is part of the USA Today Network. “Combs auditioned with a mop in his hand after last call, singing ‘Friends in Low Places.’ The bar became his first weekly gig.”

From these humble beginnings Combs and his band traveled throughout the state of North Carolina playing gigs before he decided to make the leap to Nashville in September of 2014.

It was only a short while until Combs, who is not only a musician but also a songwriter, hit the country music jackpot with his debut single, “Hurricane,” that is currently a platinum-selling multi-week No. 1 hit.

The album “This One’s For You,” which contains the hit song, was released June 2 and it became the top-selling debut from a country artist in 2017 and also achieved the No. 1 position on the country album sales Billboard chart.

With a hit single and album and sold out live shows, Combs remains grounded.

“I wish I could say I was a mad scientist genius that had this plan, but it was all these little goals that over time kept adding up to laying the foundation that we have now,” he said according to Watt’s article. “There’s still a lot to be built, but we’re not trying to build a castle on sand anymore. We have a slab of concrete.”

“Hurricane” is about a man who is trying to recover from a breakup when he runs into his ex while out at a bar with his friends.

According to a video posted by the “Grand Ole Opry” on YouTube Combs said, “I keep titles in my phone and look at them from time to time. It was one of those things where a buddy was telling me how he’d recently broken up with someone and he was worried about going out and running into her at the bar. And I think we’ve all had that kind of awkward moment where you run into an ex and it’s super weird, so we tried to capture that essence in the song.”

Combs’ performance at the Fayette County Fair is included with the purchase of a fair ticket that is $13 at the gate for regular admission, $11 for early bird gate admission and $10 for advance admission.

Through all of his success, Combs has managed to remain humble.

“I’ve always been a super regular guy,” he said during an interview with Chris Parton from Rolling Stone. “I think there’s kind of a comfortability with me onstage — and I think my cool factor is not having one. I’m not extra cool or extra different. I’m an honest dude, not trying to be anything other than who I am.”

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