Luke Combs has never been outside the U.S. before, but that will change in 2018. In March, he’ll be traveling to London, England; Glasgow, Scotland; and Dublin, Ireland, for 2018’s C2C Festival, and will also make stops in Australia with Darius Rucker, in support of Rucker’s most recent album, When Was the Last Time.
“I don’t know about any of the other guys in the band or crew, but I’ve never been overseas,” Combs told the Boot and other reporters in a recent interview. “I’m really looking forward to getting over there and seeing what the venues are like.”
With just a couple of days off over the course of the multi-week trip, Combs will be seeing a lot of the insides of those venues. Despite being busy, though, the singer is looking forward to playing tourist during his time abroad. So, what’s he most excited about?
“For sure the food,” Combs says without hesitation. “I’m excited to try fish and chips, and English breakfast. I’m a big breakfast guy. Of course, I’m also excited to see Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, and that kind of stuff. In Australia, I’m curious about the different animals. If I can be a little base, I’m excited to hear the different accents, too.”
The 27-year-old hitmaker behind “Hurricane” and “When It Rains It Pours” embarked on his first-ever headlining trek, the Don’t Tempt Me With a Good Time Tour, in 2017 … and then announced last November that he was having too much fun out on the road to call it quits. He extended the tour by 25 stops, including two sold-out shows at the Mother Church itself, the Ryman Auditorium, in Nashville, Tenn.
In 2018, Combs also plans to bring Ashley McBryde along as his opening act. McBryde, whose major-label debut album, Girl Going Nowhere, will drop at the end of March, immediately impressed Combs, even as a relatively obscure performer: “When I first met her, her song [“A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega”] had just come out. I had only heard it one time, but it was so different than anything I’d ever heard,” Combs recalls.
“When I’m thinking about somebody to bring out on tour, I have to think about who can connect with our demographic,” Combs adds. “I thought she was cool, and I thought she had the ability to connect with my audience really well. Our audience is a little bit different than the demographic at a normal show you’d be at, and she’s a little different, too. So I think she’s a great fit.”
After an action-packed 2017, including two back-to-back No. 1 singles, Combs says he has felt pressure to keep that momentum going as 2018 progresses.
“I struggled with that recently,” he explains. “How do I keep pushing the envelope, and keep doing something different? But then I realized that maybe I don’t have to do something different. I’m here because what I am doing is working really well.
“I think my goal for 2018 is to write songs that I enjoy singing and have fun playing them for folks who want to listen,” he continues. “It’s worked out well for me so far.”
Tickets for the remaining dates of Combs’ Don’t Tempt Me With a Good Time Tour are available via his website.
Who Else Is Going on Tour in 2018?
This Article Was Originally Posted at www.TheBoot.com
