Published by Cel Manero from Global One Media Inc.
After leaving college, the country singer took it upon himself to learn how to play the guitar.
It’s proof that it’s never too late to start learning an instrument — just look at Luke Combs.
In a recent Talking in Circles interview with Clint Black that aired on Friday, Oct. 10, the “Beautiful Crazy” hitmaker opened up about how and why he first learned to play guitar at 21.
At the time, Combs — now 35 — had left Appalachian State University and was juggling two jobs. After moving to Nashville with only a modest fan base, he finally picked up a guitar, encouraged by his mother, who reminded him that two well-known country stars had started playing at the same age.
“I didn’t actually start playing guitar until about 11 years ago,” Combs admitted. “I’d never played before. I’d always loved singing — it made me happy, people seemed to enjoy it, and, honestly, girls thought it was cool, which didn’t happen often for me.”
He went on to explain that he first picked up the instrument while in college. “I was 22, school was ending, and it felt like it was time to move on. I was becoming that older guy still hanging around campus,” he joked.
Combs recalled that his parents, Rhonda and Lee Combs, had once given him a $50 Ibanez guitar when he was in middle school. “I took one lesson and decided I didn’t want to do it. My parents wanted me to, so I thought it wasn’t cool,” he said.
Years later, that same guitar was still tucked away in his closet when his mother stepped in to motivate him. “She came out and said, ‘I don’t understand why you’re moping around. You know, Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw didn’t start playing guitar until they were 21.’”
“At the time, I was 21 and thought, ‘Well, I’m already ahead of those guys,’” Combs recalled with a laugh. “I don’t even know if that was true, or if my mom just said it to get me to do something — but it worked. That’s when I started playing.”
Turns out, his mom wasn’t far off. According to East Tennessee State University’s alumni site, Kenny Chesney didn’t begin playing guitar until college, after receiving one for Christmas and practicing daily before joining the school’s bluegrass band.
Tim McGraw had a similar start — in a video he shared on Instagram, he revealed that he sold his high school ring during his freshman year of college to buy a $20 guitar, then spent the summer learning 50 to 60 songs.