NEXT SUMMER, US country star Luke Combs will headline Slane Castle.

He will be joined at the historic Co Meath venue and by The Script, as well as country acts Ty Myers and The Castellows.

The gig will take place on the 18 July, with tickets going on sale next Friday at 10am.

There had been rumours that Oasis would make a sensational return to Slane Castle next year.

This will be Comb’s second time in Ireland, having sold out both the 3Arena and Belfast’s SSE Arena in October 2023.

So who is the country star that will join musical legends such as U2, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springteen and Metallica in headlining Slane Castle?

Combs is 35 and was born in Hunterville in North Carolina.

He is married with two children.

Combs had hopes of becoming a murder detective having studied criminal justice in college but he dropped out right before he was due to graduate so that he could focus on music.

Combs packed up and headed for Nashville and released his first EP in 2014.

It was after that release of his debut single ‘Hurricane’ in 2016 that things started to pick up for Combs.

Hurricane went to No. 1 in the US Country Airplay charts and 31 on the US charts, the Billboard Hot 100.

Some 17 of his singles have topped the US Country Airplay charts, which incorporates both sales and streaming.

Hurricane was featured on his debut studio album, 2017’s ‘This One’s for You’, which went to No.1 one in the US Country charts and No. 4 in the US charts.

Moving up

Off the back of his successful debut album, Combs was named new artist of the year in the 2018 Country Music Association Awards.

The following year, he was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2019 Grammy Awards – he lost out to Dua Lipa.

2019 would prove to be a big year for Combs – he won a slew of awards at the Billboard Music Awards, including Top Country Artist, Top Country Male Artist, and Top Country Album.

This was also the year he released his second album, ‘What You See Is What You Get’, which went to No. 1 in the US, Australia, and Canada (though a rather lowly 42 in Ireland).

This album garnered Combs yet more accolades, including another Top Country Album at the 2020 Billboard Music Awards, as well as another gong for Top Country Artist and Top Country Male Artist.

He also won male vocalist of the year and album of the year at the Country Music Association Awards in 2020.

The Covid-19 inspired single ‘Six Feet Apart’ also became wildly popular at the beginning of the pandemic.

Fast car

His third album, ‘Growin’ Up’, was released in 2022 and performed better with Irish audiences, reaching 36 in the album charts – it also went to No. 1 in the US Country charts.

The following year, he released a single with popstar Ed Sheeran titled ‘Life Goes On’.

His fourth album, ‘Getting’ Old’, also came in 2023 and while it peaked at No. 2 in the US Country Chart it was Combs’s best outing in Ireland, peaking at No. 6.

This album also featured a cover of Tracy Chapman’s ‘Fast Car’ which was streamed more than 65 million times on Spotify in less than two months.

His cover also peaked at No. 2 in the Billboard Hot 100 charts, higher than Chapman’s original version.

Combs said it is his favourite song and he and Chapman delivered a moving rendition of Fast Car during the 2024 Grammy Awards.

It's already been a month since this moving performance. Are you still thinking about it?#TracyChapman #LukeCombs #FastCar pic.twitter.com/BENW2mtL6W

— Tracy Chapman (@tchapmanonline) March 3, 2024

It was a rare public appearance from Chapman, whose crystal-clear vocals had many audience members swaying and singing along, including Taylor Swift.

Combs meanwhile released his fifth studio album last year, ‘Fathers & Sons’.

It also peaked at No. 2 in the US Country charts and hit No. 13 in Ireland.

Combs also helped organise the ‘Concert for Carolina’ last October following Hurricane Helene and it raised over $24 million.