Two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year and Columbia Nashville artist Luke Combs was inducted into the Music City Walk of Fame on Thursday, March 20, 2025.
The day after Grand Ole Opry member Luke Combs performed at their 100th-anniversary show that aired on NBC, he was recognized with the 109th star on Music City’s Walk of Fame.
Combs is a multi-platinum, award-winning artist who recently became the first country artist to have two songs reach a billion streams on Spotify. In addition to being a Grand Ole Opry, he is an 11-time CMA, four-time ACM, and six-time Billboard Music Award winner.
Fellow Walk of Fame inductee Colin Reed from Ryman Hospitality Properties officially introduced Combs to his family, colleagues, and fans who were onsite to witness the ceremony.
Reed spoke of how they met. Reed often hosts duck hunts at his farm in Mississippi, where he invites a select group of Opry members who appreciate the experience. The guy who runs the Opry suggested, “Maybe you bring along a newbie.”
While Combs is an avid hunter, once they arrive, he comes down with a stomach bug and spends most of the time inside being tended to by Reed’s wife.
By the second night, the guys are all sitting around the campfire, passing the guitar around and singing their favorite songs. Combs finally turned up.
He stated, "I've never had a number one record. I've never released a record. I think I've just signed a record deal. But let me sing a song that I've just written that I hope to release.”
Reed exclaimed, “He does ‘Hurricane.’ I had hosted this event for 15 years and never experienced anything quite like it. Everybody went quiet. It was extraordinary. I realized I was witnessing greatness.”
Combs’ rise to fame in such a short time is unprecedented in the music industry. He has built an exceptional following among the country lifestyle community in America and is currently expanding his global reach. As a result, Ryman Hospitality has partnered with Combs to launch the Category 10 branding platform, which includes Combs’ bar, Category 10, located off Lower Broadway.
Upon receiving the award, Combs thanked his family, friends, colleagues, and, most importantly, his fans. He stated, “I never would have imagined in a million years that it would have turned into what it turned into.”
He continued, “All I wanted to do was be able to make a living playing music and doing something that I loved. And that would have been paying my bills, living in a one-bedroom apartment by myself. I would have been happy doing that. When I came to Nashville, there was never any expectation that I needed to be a superstar, or play stadiums, or secure a publishing deal. I just wanted to be happy. And I'm so happy living the life I get to live now and living it with the people I get to share it with.”
Combs graciously thanked everyone who attended the unveiling of his star.
I spoke with one of the many fans who attended the event. Carly, from Huntsville, Alabama, has been a Luke Combs fan since 2017 and has attended his concerts more than 20 times. She learned about this award at one of his concerts and had always planned to attend, even though it was rescheduled once when Combs performed a fundraising concert for those who lost their homes in his home state of North Carolina due to last year’s hurricane.
Carly has visited Nashville several times and “loves it here.”
Stars in the Walk will feature a diverse range of talented artists, singers, songwriters, musicians, producers, publishers, composers, managers, music industry executives, and business professionals. All inductees with stars on Nashville’s historic Walk of Fame have had stellar careers and helped promote Nashville as Music City. However, Collin Reed believes that Luke Combs’ influence on the country music industry, although spectacular to date, is still in its infancy. First and foremost, Combs is a songwriter.
We look forward to many years of his unprecedented artistry.
The Music City Walk of Fame was created in 2006 on Nashville’s Music Mile, a roughly one-mile stretch that connects downtown to Music Row. Permanent sidewalk medallions with the names of inductees are displayed in a star design.
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Bethany Bowman is a freelance entertainment writer. You can follow her blog, Facebook, Instagram, and X.