A new exhibit, Luke Combs: The Man I Am, will open on July 11th at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. The exhibit chronicles Combs’ musical career from his North Carolina school choir roots to headlining performances at international stadiums. It will be on display until June 2025 and is included with regular museum admission.Â
“Few artists have experienced the kind of meteoric rise and sustained success Luke Combs has since signing his first recording contract just two years after moving to Nashville,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “He has earned a career-defining string of #1 singles, set new benchmarks on the music charts, won more than a dozen major country music industry awards since 2016 and sold out stadiums around the world.”
The exhibit features outfits worn on stage or in music videos, childhood and tour memorabilia, setlists, instruments, photographs and more. Some highlights from the exhibit include:
- Martin GPCPA4 Sapele acoustic guitar Combs used for his early performances, 2012–2014.
- Playbill from Combs’ leading role as Nathan Detroit in the musical “Guys and Dolls” during his senior year at A. C. Reynolds High School in Asheville, North Carolina.
- CD of the three songs recorded for Combs’s debut EP, The Way She Rides.
- Columbia PFG shirt and Swamp Assassin ball cap Combs wore in the 2016 music video for “Hurricane.”
- Manuscript of “Six Feet Apart,” co-written by Combs, Brent Cobb and Rob Snyder on April 14, 2020.
- Dale Earnhardt commemorative leather jacket Combs wore at Daytona International Speedway performance to kick off the NASCAR Daytona 500, Feb. 14, 2021.
- Jersey that Combs wore when he was a member of the Rockets football team at A. C. Reynolds High School.
- Dollar bill Combs kept as a memento from his first paying gig at Boone’s Parthenon Café.
- Crosley Dansette portable record player Combs used to share his recording of “Beautiful Crazy” with his wife Nicole Hocking.
“Once I decided I wanted to do music as a career, it didn’t matter if it was for 100 people or 1,000 people, I just wanted to be playing Country Music for anyone who would listen,” said Luke Combs. “If I could have enough fans to call it a job, I was set. Other than that, I never dreamed of being featured in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, much less having my own exhibit; that was beyond my wildest dreams. But honestly, it’s all a credit to my fans, family, songwriters and team. I have only made it to where I am today because of them, and this honor is one of my most humbling yet. At my core I love Country Music and this exhibit is as prestigious of an honor as it gets.”
Combs will participate in a special songwriter round in the museum’s CMA Theater on Thursday, July 11th at 2:30PM. He will be joined by four of his songwriting collaborators: Ray Fulcher, James McNair, Drew Parker and Rob Williford. During the event, they will share stories behind the music and perform some of the songs they’ve written together. That event has sold out, but you can join the waitlist here.
For more information about the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, its programming or exhibits, visit https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org.