The latest instalment of the ‘God’s Country’ podcast showcases the Isbell Brothers, known as ‘The Brothers Hunt,’ as they engage in insightful conversations with some of today’s biggest country stars and songwriters. Drawing on their shared passion for hunting and fishing, the Isbell Brothers lead a captivating exploration of the profound connection between outdoor living and country music. Listen to the full podcast here.
In this week’s episode, the Isbell Brothers are joined by two-time Country Music Awards Entertainer of the Year, Luke Combs. Combs offers a glimpse into his life as he shares anecdotes about meeting and performing with his longtime idol, Tracy Chapman, at the Grammys. He also reflects on his humble beginnings, including his first job running the go-kart track at Fun Depot. As a special treat, Combs performs a heartfelt rendition of one of his favorite Vince Gill songs alongside Dan and Reid Isbell.
‘God’s Country’ is part of iHeartMedia’s innovative ‘Podcast, meet Broadcast’ initiative, where the podcast is also aired as a broadcast special on select Country radio stations nationwide every Sunday evening. This unique collaboration brings the engaging conversations of ‘God’s Country’ to millions of listeners, further enriching the country music community with compelling storytelling and genuine connections.
Luke Combs reminisces on his first job at Asheville Fund Depot!
“It was all high school kids when I worked there [at 15], and it was still all high school kids when I worked there when I was 21 and I remember it just being, like, soul crushing. I remember thinking, it was not looking good already for me to finish college at that point and I remember thinking, this might be what the future looks like for me if I don’t get my act together. I could be the 34 year old guy that’s working go-carts. But that wasn’t, like, I should do music to get out of this. It was just this moment of, man, I really need to get real. Life is rapidly approaching me.”
Luke Combs says his mum told him Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw learned guitar at 21 years old and so should he.
“There’s things parents that say that stuff. ‘Why don’t you go ride your bicycle?’ You know what I mean? So she comes out and she’s like, why don’t you go play that guitar that’s in your closet? And I was like, it was one of those, mom. I’m like, what are we talking about? I don’t even know how to play guitar. And she’s like, ‘Well, Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw, they didn’t learn how to play guitar till they were 21’ and I was like, well, damn. I was like, if that’s true. I don’t even know if that’s true.”
Adam Church big-timed him Combs first reached out to him
“His videos would kind of constantly come up and about the 5th or 6th video of his that I saw, he comes out in an Appalachian State (University) hat, so I fired him a message off and I was like ‘Hey, man, do you go to App? I’ve been seeing your stuff or whatever’. And he big-timed me. He didn’t reach out to me…big-timed me for sure…I mean, I would say for sure if I hadn’t met Adam Church, I wouldn’t be here. Well, for sure. I mean, I wouldn’t have been able to do the things that I’ve done without, like, especially early on, man.”
Luke Combs talks about performing with Tracy Chapman at the Grammys
“I wanted to treat that song and Tracy with as much reverence as I thought that the song and she deserved. Right. I didn’t want it to look like, oh, well, I recorded this song so that I could make money off of it or I can say I did this or I did that. Never about that, right? It’s just about loving a song that meant a lot to you. And maybe that’s what resonated.”
I remember I was like, man, that’s not going to happen, dude. You know what I mean? She’s hard to get in touch with for a reason. She doesn’t want to be in touch with, I think. You know what I mean? I can’t speak for her. But that’s what I would think. I don’t even think she has a manager or anything, like, any kind of any of that, like, traditional channels, connections to the business…I don’t want her to do something she doesn’t want to do because I don’t want to do stuff I don’t want to do. I was shocked. I’m here.”
We just talked about music, talked about that song. I fangirled for sure, asking her about how’d you make this record and why’d you decide to do this, which is awesome to get, to have know, you hardly ever get to have those conversations with people that you admire. And so that was really cool, man. And I feel like we just connected on that call. And she agreed to do it. A few weeks later, she agreed to do it. Flew out to Los Angeles on a Tuesday. Obviously, the show was on Sunday. We rehearsed for a couple of days. Just that, just to get it right, get it perfect.”
The weekly show is hosted by top country music songwriters Dan and Reid Isbell and will focus on the intersection of country music and outdoor living. Each week, the Isbell Brothers, also known as “The Brothers Hunt,” will interview today’s biggest and most talented country stars and songwriters, drawing on their own passion for hunting and fishing to lead a thought-provoking and fun exploration of the fundamental role of outdoor living in country music.
