walking upstream…
Luke Combs
photo: david bergman · cc by-sa 4.0 ↗Luke Combs
sourcesWikipedia · Whiskey Riff2
Born in 1990 in Huntersville, North Carolina, Luke Combs sang in church choirs and school musicals before dropping out of Appalachian State University to chase music in Nashville. His booming baritone and everyman songwriting turned 2017's "Hurricane" into a breakout hit, and he became one of the fastest-rising country stars of his generation, winning back-to-back CMA Entertainer of the Year awards in 2021 and 2022 and joining the Grand Ole Opry.
the sound in question
2016
HurricaneLuke Combs
walk the tributaries ↓
Eric Church2010s · Country / Country rock / Southern rock
Combs has said Eric Church is the whole reason he fell back in love with country music in college — a friend at Appalachian State handed him a Church CD and it clicked. You can hear that same driving, guitar-forward, arena-sized attitude in Combs's rowdier singles.
listen: upstream & heresource: Whiskey Riff ↗
2011
Drink in My HandEric Church
2019
Beer Never Broke My HeartLuke Combs
listen forCue up Church's "Drink in My Hand" and then Combs's "Beer Never Broke My Heart" back to back — same thumping, unapologetic bar-anthem energy, just with Combs's bigger, rounder voice out front.
Brooks & Dunn1990s · Country / Neotraditional country
Combs has said Brooks & Dunn's music was all over the radio when he was a kid in the car with his parents, and he gravitated heavily toward them. He covered their "Brand New Man" on the road for years before the duo's manager caught a show and the two acts ended up recording together.
listen: upstream & heresource: Wide Open Country ↗
1991
Brand New ManBrooks & Dunn
2019
1, 2 ManyLuke Combs
listen forPlay the duo's original "Brand New Man" and then Combs's own "1, 2 Many" (which features Brooks & Dunn outright) — the same rowdy honky-tonk shuffle and boot-scoot swagger carries straight through.
George Strait1980s · Country / Neotraditional country / Honky-tonk
Combs's parents introduced him to George Strait early on, and he's cited Strait among the artists he 'grew up listening to and admiring.' Strait's plainspoken, classic-leaning croon shows up in Combs's more traditional, unhurried ballads.
listen: upstream & here
1982
Amarillo by MorningGeorge Strait
2017
Beautiful CrazyLuke Combs
listen forListen to Strait's "Amarillo by Morning" — a song Combs himself has named as a personal favorite — next to Combs's "Beautiful Crazy," and notice how both lean on a steady, unfussy vocal delivery over a simple, traditional country arrangement rather than studio polish.