Luke Combs is leaving a heartfelt note to fans after releasing his latest project.
Today, Combs’ 12-track album, Fathers & Sons, hit streaming platforms and instantly connected with his fans, who are parents. As a father to two young boys, Luke Combs is a father first. The album tells the story of being there for the little moments and cherishing time together before they grow up in front of your eyes, the guilt of not being there for every big moment, and the hope you raise children who end up being good humans.
Through each track, listeners can hear how personal this project was to Combs: parent or not. While Combs draws a lot of inspiration from his personal experience as a parent, other songs also highlight the experiences of being a son or daughter and even a grandfather.
This afternoon, after the project had sat with fans for a little bit, he took to social media to share how terrified he was to release a project that he knew might not resonate with all of his fans:
“I’ve been putting out music for over 10 years now. Over time, I’ve gotten a pretty good grasp on what I feel like my fans enjoy hearing. It’s crazy to think about changing that, but I’ve always wanted to grow up alongside my fan base.
I’ve got two boys under two, so my life is dominated by the thoughts of being there for them. I want to be their dad first and foremost.”
Combs then notes that while this project was at the forefront of his mind, part of him selfishly wanted to recreate a project with the similar sound of “Beer Never Broke My Heart” or “When It Rains It Pours” because those are timeless commercial successes from his catalog.
But instead of doing something he knew would bring him further success and fame, he leaned into what was weighing heavy on his heart and penned 12 songs that highlight the most important role he plays right now: Dad.
“I just had to do this project, though, because being a dad to my boys has been the main thing on my mind lately. I don’t want to say this is a side project because it is me and my stuff, but what started as a crazy idea with only a few dad songs turned into me saying we should just record all of them as my next album.
I know it’s probably not what everyone expected my next album to be and I get that; I feel the same way in this not truly feeling like my next album. But being a dad is where life has taken me, and this album is a reflection of that in song form.”
While Combs wasn’t sure how fans would receive it, the early thoughts were that fans could not get enough. This album is the Father’s Day gift we never knew we needed.
It is also so special to hear these songs and know that Tex and Beau can listen to this album one day and hear through each track how loved they are by their dad.
Fire up some early favorites.
“Remember Him That Way”
“All I Ever Do Is Leave”
“Huntin’ By Yourself”