Luke Combs Made $200 From His 1st Show: ‘That Was More Money Than I Made at Both of My Jobs’
In his first few years of being in the spotlight, country music star Luke Combs has made a big splash in the industry. Like many artists, he came from a small town and worked tirelessly to make his dream of becoming a successful musician a reality.
Combs’ unique style and catchy tunes have the world hooked. However, without his determination to perform for the first time and the first show’s success, Luke Combs may not be the household name that country music fans know and love.
Luke Combs’ first show was in a bar
Before becoming a country superstar, Luke Combs worked two jobs in his hometown of Asheville, NC. He recapped his previous jobs in an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, in which he talked about one of the jobs being a bouncer at a bar at the strip mall below his apartment.
Since Combs had an interest in playing guitar and singing, he asked his boss at the bar if he could play a show since he had yet to play a gig at that point. Initially, his boss turned him down because he told Combs that he couldn’t contractually allow bands to play due to the seven apartments above the bar. Since Combs was one of the apartment tenants, he promised that he would have everyone else come downstairs to listen to the music, so they couldn’t call to complain about the noise.
His boss wasn’t convinced, so Combs walked across the street to another bar and booked a show for a Wednesday night. While the bar had limited space, 200 people showed up and paid $1 each to listen to Combs play his first show. The singer recalled the feeling of making $200 that night, which was more than he made between both of his other jobs that week.
Combs was hooked on performing after the first show and went back to his boss at the bar and convinced his boss to let him play shows there. Combs told the owner that he would either continue playing gigs that bring 200 people to the bar across the street or do the same thing for his bar. Ultimately, his boss allowed him to use its location as his venue despite the lease terms. Soon after, Combs moved to Nashville, Tennessee to further pursue his country music dream.
How Combs’ music career grew after his successful first show
While Combs’ first show was at a bar, he also had a notable performance in his early childhood town of Charlotte, NC, playing his first country music show at the Parthenon Cafe. The aspiring country music star has come a long way since playing for packed bars and cafes, now playing sold-out arenas and music venues around the world. Pursuing his dream of becoming a country artist has earned Combs three Grammy Award nominations, five CMA awards, two iHeartRadio music awards, and numerous other awards and nominations.
The success of his first shows motivated the “Forever After All” singer to continue his passion for performing and chasing his country music dreams. However, it wasn’t until the release of his first single, “Hurricane,” that major Nashville record labels took notice.
He signed with Sony Music Nashville, and the song was re-released in 2017 and reached the number one spot on the Country Radio Airplay chart. The country music superstar’s success only skyrocketed from there. Combs continued to release popular hits, such as “Beautiful Crazy,” “Beer Never Broke My Heart,” Lovin’ on You,” and “Six Feet Apart.”
What is the country music star’s net worth?
Combs has only begun his country music career, but his chart-topping hits have brought him more than an ever-growing fan base. The multi-platinum country artist’s current net worth is $5 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Selling out venues in record time, the singer’s electric concerts, and numerous accolades and award nominations, Combs is definitely making his mark on the music industry in a big way.
