One of the most fun things about Stagecoach is watching the progression of an artist's career, as the first time they play the three-day festival is often in the early afternoon, and as they develop and time goes on, they 'graduate' to later and later in the day.
One such artist is Luke Combs, who just two years ago found himself at his first Stagecoach, playing "at 2:30 in the afternoon for about 1,000 people." Five #1 singles, an ACM and CMA Award, a Grammy nomination, and more, later, he was the direct support for Stagecoach 2019 Day Two headliner Sam Hunt.
Another major change in his life since Stagecoach 2017 is that he's now engaged. But even with this joyful experience, the hard-core country singer is still recording music with the same authenticity that has always defined his work, most notably with the soul-searching "Reasons."
Another new song was "5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Too Many," reminiscent of songs like "Beer Can" (which he did not perform) and "Beer Never Broke My Heart" (which he did).
He described "Beautiful Crazy" as "the cornerstone of our relationship," referring to his fiancee, and assured the crowd that even though he'd turned 29 years old recently, that he could still hang with the best of them as he introduced "Don't Tempt Me with a Good Time."
An acoustic version of "This One's For You" took him back to the early days of his career, and he shared that when he wrote "She Got the Best of Me" five years ago, he never thought it would ever be heard anywhere outside of his mama's kitchen in North Carolina.
But during his second Stagecoach performance, nearly 80,000 not only heard it, but sang it back to him, along with other monster hits like "Hurricane" and "One Number Away."
In his typical humble style, he observed that that is "Pretty cool."
1. Honky Tonk Highway
2. . When It Rains It Pours
3. Must've Never Met You
4. Reasons
5. Beautiful Crazy
6. Don't Tempt Me with a Good Time
7. Can I Get an Outlaw?
8. This One's for You (acoustic)
9. One Number Away
10. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Too Many
11. Hurricane
12. Beer Never Broke My Heart
13. She Got the Best of Me