Luke Combs Tears Up While Performing at Newport Folk Festival: ‘I Got Caught Up in the Moment’
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The Grammy-nominated singer became emotional and cried while performing “Whoever You Turn Out to Be.”
Luke Combs Gets Emotional While Performing at Newport Folk Festival: ‘I Was Just in the Moment’
Luke Combs showed his emotional side during a recent live performance.
During his set at the Newport Folk Festival on Saturday, July 26, the Grammy-nominated singer became visibly emotional while performing “Whoever You Turn Out To Be,” a heartfelt song about watching one’s children grow up. In a fan-recorded TikTok video, the “Beautiful Crazy” artist was seen tearing up as he sang the line, “But you ain’t gotta change the world to make your daddy proud.”
Overwhelmed with emotion, Combs, 35, paused to wipe his face with a towel and briefly collected himself as the audience cheered him on. “Sorry. That got me a little bit,” he told the supportive crowd before continuing the performance.
The song, which appears on his 2024 album Fathers and Sons, clearly struck a chord with the artist. After finishing it, Combs addressed the crowd at Fort Adams State Park, saying, “Now I remember why we don’t play that one very often,” prompting laughter from fans.
“I apologize,” he said, before correcting himself with a smile. “Actually, I don’t apologize — I was just caught up in the moment.”
Fans responded with compassion and admiration in the video’s comment section. One person noted, “That’s why his music hits so hard — he truly feels every word he sings.” Another added, “This song makes me cry too! I love him so much,” while others shared that they also got emotional hearing it for the first time.
Back in May, Combs opened up to PEOPLE about being a father to his two young sons, Tex, 3, and Beau, who will turn 2 in August. He emphasized that parenting is his top priority, even above his music career.
“I don’t think my boys really understand what I do,” he said. “Tex is nearly 3 and sometimes recognizes my voice on the radio, but to him, that’s just ‘Dad.’ He probably thinks every kid’s dad has a song on the radio,” Combs joked. “It’s all normal to him — and I want to keep it that way.”
Fatherhood has also shifted his approach to touring. “I want my kids to know that they come first — that my job is never more important than they are,” he added.