“Remind Me Not to Play It Again”: Luke Combs Breaks Down in Tears During ‘Whoever You Turn Out to Be’ at Newport Folk Festival

There’s no denying that Luke Combs is one of the biggest stars in country music right now.

However, away from the spotlight, he’s a family man first.

His emotional track ‘Whoever You Turn Out to Be’ was released on his 2024 album Fathers & Sons, and is one that clearly means a lot to the North Carolina singer.

Taking the stage on July 26 at the legendary Newport Folk Festival, Combs’ setlist was full of his big hits, a Bob Dylan cover - of course, this was Newport - and a couple of live debuts, one of which hit much harder than anyone was expecting.

Knowing that the festival was “steeped in history”, particularly with it being where Dylan shocked the world by ‘going electric’, Combs made a couple of changes to his usual live show plan.

Starting off with a stripped-back set before his band plugged in and went electric themselves, it was in the acoustic section that he leaned into some of his more emotional songs. Easing into ‘Whoever You Turn Out to Be’, the singer proved just how heartfelt the track is.

‘Whoever You Turn Out to Be’ is dedicated to his two sons, Tex and Beau, and from start to end, is full of sentiments of love and support. The family that Combs has created is by far the achievement he’s most proud of: “Now it might work out that you don't turn out anything like me /
But I'll love whoever you turn out to be,” he sings on the track.

Even just for the listener, this is an emotional song, but as Combs was singing it at the Rhode Island festival, the emotions got the better of him and the ‘When it Rains it Pours’ singer broke down in tears, his sons surely on his mind as the line “but you ain't gotta change the world to make your daddy proud” got the better of him.

Despite being a superstar, Combs always gives the impression that he’s a down-to-earth guy, and even on stage, he’s not afraid to let his emotions out. As the singer had to take a quick break, putting off the chorus that would have typically followed those hard-hitting lines, the crowd cheered and showed their support for the artist, evidently appreciating just how willing he is to bare his soul on stage.

Taking to social media after the festival, he posted a collection of photographs captioned, “Remind me not to play ‘Whoever You Turn Out to Be’ live again haha,’ it was definitely a memorable performance of the Father & Sons track. The comments of the post are flooded with praise from fans for the honesty and transparency Combs always shows in his music.

Joining Mostly Sports Podcast with Mark Titus and Brandon Walker on July 28 Combs explained his decision to perform the moving song, “if we’re playing in a stadium, it’s not really the moment for [‘Whoever You Turn out To Be’]. But we’re playing it at Newport, I’d been at home with the kids and wife, and I just broke down in the middle of it… I’m just not used to doing that song.”

Explaining the story behind the song, Combs said “I want my kids to know that no matter what, I’m there for them, regardless of whoever they may be.” Having told this to the crowd before launching into the song, it’s no surprise that the ‘Beautiful Crazy’ singer got overwhelmed by emotion. Hopefully he’ll be making it home pretty regularly between tour stops.

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