Hands down, if there were an award for the most genuine person in country music it would have to go to Luke Combs. Beyond being one of the biggest acts in the industry and constantly breaking records, he’s also known for being a selfless and down-to-earth guy—qualities that make him even more remarkable.
In a recent interview on Saturday, March 22, at the Country Music Hall of Fame, Combs’ manager, Chris Kappy, gave fans another glimpse into the superstar’s class act personality.
Kappy shared a story from the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caught everyone off guard, especially the manager of a star who was in the middle of a global tour. At the time, Combs on the other hand was completely out of the loop on the news and a bit late to learning about the impending lockdown and rapidly spreading virus.
Right before the shutdown, Combs was set to be one of the headliners for the C2C: Country to Country festival at The O2 London, the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, and 3Arena Dublin. Kappy’s first instinct was to call Combs and get everyone home as soon as possible. But in typical Luke Combs fashion, when Kappy made the call at midnight, he found Combs in the middle of a wine session with none other than Ed Sheeran.
Kappy tells the audience, “So I had to call Luke, and of course, he didn’t answer. So, I texted ‘9-1-1 please answer your phone’ and he’s like ‘What’. They were drinking wine at Ed’s wine cellar, so they were having the time of their lives.”
At least the duo behind “Life Goes On” got to enjoy themselves a bit before the pandemic took hold. Kappy humorously added, “They were probably still a little inebriated when we got to the airport,” which left Combs understandably confused by the situation.
After a hectic return to the States for Combs, his band, and his team, they faced the uncertainty of what their careers would look like without the ability to tour. “When the world shut down, it was very scary. We didn’t know what was going to happen,” Kappy recalled.
Known for his selflessness, whether it’s refunding fans’ tickets or being honored with a humanitarian award for his fundraising efforts after Hurricane Helene, it’s no surprise that Combs showed the same generosity to his team. Kappy shared that once Combs had a moment to process the situation (and sober up, of course), he quickly reached out to his team with reassuring words: “No matter what we’re gonna be okay.”
What followed was even more remarkable—Luke Combs paid the salary of his entire crew of 44 people during the pandemic. He comforted his team by telling them the heartfelt statement, “Your families will never have to worry about putting food on the table.”
I didn’t know it was possible to like Luke Combs more than I already did, but his response to the situation only makes me love him more. His hit song “Beautiful Crazy” recently surpassed a well-deserved 1 billion streams on Spotify, proving once again that nice guys do, in fact, finish first.
Watch the video here: