TIME’s Most Influential People of 2026 Nominee, Grand Ole Opry member, two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year, and 21-consecutive number-one hit maker, Luke Combs, can now officially say he’s a college graduate.
The “Hurricane” singer turned his tassel last night amongst the graduating class of 2026 at Appalachian State University in his home state of Boone, North Carolina. The surprise appearance from Combs may have come as a bit of a shock to the students, but for those who know anything about his rise to fame, this monumentous occasion was actually a pretty full-circle moment.
The country music star attended the college from 2008 to 2012, pursuing a Criminal Justice major, a degree he was only 21 credits away from receiving, mind you, until he dropped it all to chase his music career instead. Luckily, it’s not hard to see the impulse decision certainly did him well, as he continues to make new attendance record highs on his 2026 My Kinda Saturday Night World Tour.
However, it’s still pretty epic that now 14 years later, Combs can add “college graduate” to his long list of accolades and hang his brand new shiny wooden framed degree on the wall. Hilariously, the University gave him a very fitting honorary degree of Music, which probably fits the mountaineer’s alum skill set a little bit more accurately.
Treating the night like any other atypical graduation, Combs’ wife cheered him on as he walked across the stage decked out in an all-black cap and gown with an ASU stole and sporting a grin the size of the whole state of North Carolina. The 36-year-old even had a “Congrats Grad” balloon, App State cookies, and flowers waiting for him.
Pretty sure Combs’ is also the only person in that whole stadium who hopped on his jet afterwards to head out on his next stop on tour, landing in Norman, Oklahoma tomorrow night, May 9, for another epic stadium show where he’ll hopefully get to continue to celebrate this milestone with a grad party amongst thousands of singing fans.
Tour Dates:
- May 9: Norman, Okla. @ Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium†
- May 16: Green Bay, Wis. @ Lambeau Field†
- May 30: Montréal, Québec @ Parc Jean-Drapeau†
- June 6: Toronto, Ont. @ Rogers Stadium†
- July 4: Gothenburg, Sweden @ Ullevi‡
- July 7: Paris, France @ Accor Arena§
- July 11: Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Johan Cruijff Arena‡
- July 18: Ireland @ Slane Castle‡
- July 25: Edinburgh, U.K. @ Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium+
- Aug. 1: London, U.K. @ Wembley Stadium#
*with special guests Dierks Bentley, Ty Myers and Thelma & James
†with special guests Dierks Bentley, Ty Myers, Jake Worthington and Thelma & James
‡with special guests The Script, Ty Myers and The Castellows
§with special guests Ty Myers and The Castellows
+with special guests The Teskey Brothers, Ty Myers and The Castellows
#with special guests Thomas Rhett, Ty Myers and The Castellows