5 Things We Learned at Luke Combs’ ‘The Prequel’ Fan Club Party
Luke Combs celebrated the release of his new EP The Prequel on Friday (June 7) with a party devoted to his loyal fanbase. Combs gave hundreds of these fans—including one who traveled all the way from Mexico—a sanctuary at 3rd & Lindsley in Nashville, away from the bustling crowds that had taken over downtown for 2019 CMA Fest.
In a roughly hourlong set, Combs engaged in a Q&A session and performed tracks off the five-song project alongside his established hits. Here are five things we learned at the event.
Combs knows how to write a tearjerker.
While we know his talent for balancing beer-themed anthems with strong and personal love songs, Combs has yet to share a heartbreaking ballad, "Even Though I'm Leaving" changes all that. With the power to draw tears from one's eyes by the first few lines alone, the moving songs speaks from the perspective of a son begging his father not to leave for war-- and then switches to the father's sobering words in the chorus. "Just cause I'm leaving / It don't mean that I won't be right by your side / When you need me / And you can't see me in the middle of the night / Close your eyes and say a prayer / It's okay I know you're scared when I'm not here / But I'll always be right there / Even though I'm leavin' I ain't going nowhere," he sings sincerely.
The fan club party marked the first time Combs and his band have performed the track live. The song upholds his reputation as a songwriter; not only penning party anthems that fill arenas, but heartfelt ones that resonate with listeners long after.
"One Too Many" is a potential hit.
Though the crowds who've flocked to his 2019 Beer Never Broke My Heart Tour may have heard "One Too Many," the song has yet to receive the studio treatment. Fans at the Nashville party were treated to a stripped-down rendition of the rock-infused number that features pounding drums and guitar.
Even in an acoustic setting, the cleverly written song picked up the tempo following the mellow atmosphere initially created with "Moon Over Mexico." With such lyrics as "By half past 10 I'm half past tipsy / A quarter to 12 man I've done had plenty /The countdown's on when the first beer hits me/ 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 too many," the song poses as another potential hit should Combs include it on a future project.
His most rewarding moment revolves around his parents.
In between live performances, Rolling Stone Country's Joseph Hudak moderated a Q&A with Combs that was entirely driven by fan-submitted questions. One of Combs more poignant answers came with a question about the humbling accomplishments in his young but illustrious career; he used it as an opportunity to shine a spotlight on his supportive parents.
"My most rewarding moment has been being able to help my parents out," he shared to cheers from the audience, noting how his mother works between 40 and 50 hours a week and his father retired from a career in maintenance in 2018. "They made a lot of sacrifices for me...but I've gotten to help them out with some bills they had. My parents and myself didn't get to travel a lot growing up, so I got to take them to a lot of places that they've never been and let them experience a lot of things that they've never gotten to experience. That's definitely been the coolest thing."
"You can't have success without sacrifice."
When a fan asked what he misses most about his home state of North Carolina, Combs again turned the conversation to his family. While he admits how much he misses his parents and loved ones back home, he expressed thankfulness for his new roots in Nashville, reflecting on how the growing pains of moving away from home is a reminder that he gets to live out his dream. "I love doing this, so it's kind of the best of both worlds. Because I wouldn't be in Nashville doing this if there was no fan club party. I'd be playing somewhere on Broadway right now trying to get to the point where I had a fan club party," he reflects. "I think you can't have success without sacrifice, so if missing home and missing my family has led to all of this, I think it's a good balance."
New music is on the way.
While the breakthrough star couldn't give specific details, he all but confirmed that The Prequel is true to its name, setting the stage for more music to arrive. In addition to noting that he selected the EP's five songs in response to fans' repeated requests for them, he stressed more than once that this is merely the beginning of a string of new music releases.
"I just felt like I wanted to put out the songs that people were asking for and I know there's some that aren't on there," he says. "Which hints that there may or may not be more music coming out later."
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