Luke Combs captivated the Grammy Awards crowd when he took the stage for the first time at the iconic awards show on Sunday evening (February 5). Combs’ performance was marked by a nostalgic reflection of his beginnings in Boone, North Carolina, where he worked part-time as a bouncer in a tavern before he became one of country music’s biggest hitmakers.

Combs’ former boss, Justin Davis, introduced the award-winning superstar to the stage at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. Davis admitted that “Luke wasn’t the best bouncer because he was just way too nice,” but he always knew that Combs was an all-star performer. From the first night he heard Combs play music for a crowd of about 75 people, “he truly had us in the palm of his hand.”

Now performing on some of the biggest stages in the world (including at the Grammy Awards), Combs had the crowd in the palm of his hand again with “Going, Going, Gone.”

“Like a runaway Southbound train/ Like an Arizona desert rain/ Like lightning in the sky/ Like fireworks in July/ Like a left field homerun ball/ Like a whiskey shot at last call/ It's like she was made for moving on/ That girl is going, going, gone”

The song is one of 12 tracks to appear on Combs’ latest album, Growin’ Up, which released in June 2022, days after he and his wife welcomed their firstborn child. The reigning iHeartRadio Music Awards Country Artist of the Year is set to follow that collection with Gettin’ Old, an 18-track album that’s due next month, just before Combs kicks off his massive world tour.

“This album is about the stage of life I’m in right now,” Combs previously said of Gettin’ Old. “One that I’m sure a lot of us are in, have been through, or will go through. It’s about coming of age, loving where life is now but at the same time missing how it used to be, continuing to fall for the one you love and loving them no matter what, living in the moment but still wondering how much time you have left, family, friends, being thankful, and leaving a legacy. Me and so many others have poured their hearts and souls into this record and I hope you love it as much as we do.”

Casey Carter