Luke Combs delivered powerful renditions of career-spanning anthems during his iHeartRadio Album Release Party on Thursday evening (March 23), hours before the debut of his highly-anticipated 18-track album, Gettin’ Old.
Combs shared a sneak preview of Gettin’ Old during the intimate release show in Nashville, Tennessee, blending his newest tracks with unforgettable fan-favorites into his setlist. between songs, Combs fielded a few exclusive interview questions from iHeartRadio's Wayne D.
Gettin’ Old, which drops one day before Combs kicks off his massive world tour, is the award-winning artist’s follow-up to Growin’ Up. That 12-track collection made its debut in June 2022, days after Combs and his wife, Nicole, welcomed their firstborn son, Tex Lawrence. The proud parents announced earlier this week that Tex is set to become a big brother this year. Combs Baby No. 2 is due in September.
Combs’ soon-to-release project is a “coming of age” album that chronicles the state of life he’s in now, moving forward after Growin’ Up. The self-proclaimed over-thinker reflected on dozens of songs he recorded in the process of Growin’ Up, Gettin’ Old, realizing that the songs lent t themselves to two different albums.
“Sometimes when I listen to it — and someone will probably be upset that I say this, but I’m like, ‘man, am I like, super boring?’” Combs told Wayne D during the album release party. Though he loves the songs on the album, “it’s like, I’m in bed by 10 o’clock because I got a kid now, so maybe it makes sense. I don’t know. It’s just where my songwriting went.”
Combs said it’s been “awesome” to navigate the balance of family life and his carer as a global superstar. Luckily, he said, he gets to spend plenty of time with his wife and son, which is a priority for him as he reflects on his childhood out of the spotlight. He said, however, that fans won’t get to hear too many songs about parenthood just yet. Combs guessed that maybe two songs on Gettin’ Old were written about becoming a dad. Many were penned about two years ago, and some were written as recently as six months ago, according to the reigning iHeartRadio Music Awards Country Artist of the Year (who is nominated in multiple categories at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards).
Some of the highlights on Gettin’ Old include “Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old,” “Love You Anyway,” “Joe” (a well-written song for non-drinking fans) — all of which he performed during his iHeartRadio Album Release Party — “5 Leaf Clover,” “Tattoo On A Sunburn,” “Take You With Me,” a cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” and more. Combs also delivered soulful renditions of of “She Got The Best Of Me” — a smash-hit that he wrote 9 years ago, at age 24 — and “When It Rains It Pours.” Combs is still writing music and adding to his lengthy list of hits, including possible collaborations. He told Wayne D that he and Morgan Wallen continue to text about the possibility of a collaboration, as long as it’s “the perfect song.”
Combs is getting ready to kick off his world tour just after the release of his highly-anticipated album. He said concertgoers can expect a mix of new music and career-spanning hits that they’ll all know and love. Until Gettin’ Old makes its long-awaited debut, listen to a few of the tracks below.