Luke Combs Performs Live Debut of Unreleased Song, ‘The Man He Sees In Me’, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Luke Combs has officially kicked off his 2024 Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old tour, with the North Carolina hitmaker delivering two packed-out shows in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The ‘Love You Anyway’ singer-songwriter switched up the setlist for each performance at American Family Field, ensuring fans at both shows would get to enjoy a unique experience each night. Excitingly, one song that made its way into Luke's set on Friday and Saturday was the unreleased fan-favourite, ‘The Man He Sees In Me’.

Luke Combs first teased the heartfelt, intricate ode to his son back in January, with the sweet offering quickly making the rounds on TikTok and Instagram as fans began to call for its official release. With Luke now incorporating it into his setlist, it seems likely that ‘The Man He Sees In Me’ will be made available in the coming weeks.

The introspective ballad finds Luke Combs reflecting on how his son idolises him, in the way many young boys place their fathers on a pedestal. Touchingly, Luke muses about how he hopes he can one day get close to living up to the expectations of his child.

The live version brings a newfound sense of intimacy to the track, with the stadium-wide crowd stunned into silence as Luke wrapped his signature, raspy vocals around the vulnerable lyrics (“I hope he never finds out that I didn’t hang the moon / And I’ve never scared a monster out the closet in his room / Someday between him leaving home and driving on my knee / Maybe I’ll finally be, the man he sees in me”.

What makes ‘The Man He Sees In Me’ all the more special is the fact that Luke Combs is essentially stepping into the paternal shoes of the character in his much-loved hit, ’Even Though I'm Leaving’. In that song, he played the role of the son who was asking his dad to chase away the monsters under his bed, whereas now, Luke is the one crooning about having ‘scared a monster out the closet in his room’.

Elsewhere during his two opening shows in Milwaukee, Luke Combs serenaded the audience with stellar live renditions of Ed Sheeran's ‘Dive’, Brooks & Dunn's ‘Brand New Man’, Steve Earle's ‘Copperhead Road’ and - of course - Tracy Chapman's ‘Fast Car’. Luke's version of ‘Fast Car’ has blossomed into one of his biggest hits to date, amassing almost half a billion streams on Spotify alone and a plethora of awards.

Next, Luke Combs will bring his formidable arsenal of country chart-toppers to Buffalo, New York for another double-header, before he heads to Texas and Pennsylvania later in April.

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