Luke Combs Recalls Having To Choose Between Joining A Fraternity Or Singing With His A Capella Group In College: “It’s Very Not Cool… But I Made The Right Choice”

Was it really that hard of a choice? It sounds like he made is pretty easily…

Luke Combs is of course now a global country music superstar, who racks up #1 single after #1 single, sells out venues all over the world, right up there with Morgan Wallen and Zach Bryan, he’s the biggest thing in the business. But he got his start in the college town of Boone, North Carolina, when he was in college at Appalachian State University back around 2011-ish. That’s when he met his now close friend, local musician Adam Church (who was featured in his ‘Doin’ This’ music video), and they stared playing as a duo around town.

The rest, as they say, is history, and during a recent media day at the Barstool Sports Chicago office, Luke appeared on The Dog Walk podcast, where he talked about his time in college and what makes Boone so special, putting it perfectly by saying “it feels like it’s the only place in the world when you’re there.”

As an App State alum myself, I say amen to that, Luke:

“It’s a vibe. It really is, man. It’s a special place… you’re just tucked into this little valley on top of these mountains, and it feels like it’s the only place in the world when you’re there. It’s very safe feeling I would say, which is a weird thing to be cool about going to college. There’s nothing else to do but have a good time, really.”

He went onto tell a hilarious story about how he actually rushed and planned to join a fraternity, which is hard to imagine now because he just doesn’t seem like your typical “frat boy,” but in Boone, a lot of the frat boys have that “mountain man” look going on like Luke, but he’s right in saying Greek like is really not a big deal there, so it’s much more chill than your typical SEC experience with it, for example:

“Well, they’re probably all different now. I mean, it’s like every two years there would just be new bars. At the time it was Parthenon which is now just a Mexican restaurant. Klondike, which I’m sure is still there, probably. It may not be… but there was three little bars there, and that was kinda like… Klondike was like the fraternity [place].

Our Greek life at App was very small, you know, compared to an SEC school. Hardly anybody does Greek life at App. I rushed KA, and then they actually it’s interesting, we had big brother reveal night. I was in I was in an a cappella group, as cool as that sounds. It’s very not cool…”

He ended up getting the bid to join, but the “Big Brother” reveal night happened to be on the same day as his a cappella group performance, which was a group of other guys like Luke who loved to sing. Obviously, they needed his voice, and he had several solos, so he told the frat boys he wouldn’t be able to make it that night. They ultimately made him pick between the two events, and he knew he had a lot more to loose from turning down opportunities to sing than party and meet girls (though I’m sure at the time that felt like a much bigger deal):

“I got the bid to join, you know, I’m pledging and do the thing and it’s Big Brother reveal night. I was still in the a cappella group at the time, and so Big Brother reveal night, we had a concert for the a cappella group, the same night that was gonna be at the same time. So I told the guys in the fraternity, because a sophomore at this time, so I was kinda like, the pledge thing…

I was like, I have to give you gum? I’m not gonna be friends with you if I’ve gotta carry around stuff for you all the time. I have to have a bouncy ball? Like what is this? What are we, 10 years old? I’m not doing that. I’m already kind of like over that part of it. It’s like, why does anyone really join a fraternity? To go to parties and meet chicks is kind of the deal, right. So I tell the guys, ‘Hey, I really gotta do this concert tonight.’

Because there’s only like 12 people in the group, it’s not like there’s 1,000 guys in the a cappella group. I’m like, your boy’s got solos, I can’t just not go. And they were like, ‘Well, you gotta choose, dude. You’re either doing this or that.’ And I was like ‘Well, I’m doing that, dude. I’m out.'”

Luke admits that he would’ve loved to have been able to do both, but he didn’t love the dumb rules that went along with joining a frat, and he already knew he had more potential with music so he stuck with it:

“But I made the right choice, obviously. I ended up here, made the right choice, made the right choice. But I would’ve loved to have been able to do both, but it was the idea that was making me pick one or the other… there was no wiggle room on that thing, and I was just like, I kind of already sing and I’m already kinda good at that.

And all I’m doing with you guys is paying to be your friend, which I already have a lot of friends anyways. It just didn’t line up. And no hard feelings, no hard feelings from me. It was just, you know, you’ve gotta make your choice.”

Not to reiterate a very clear point, but definitely he made the right call, and it’s honestly so funny to hear him talk about his college days when he was still just a regular student with big dreams who also wanted to party and meet girls… I’d love to hear what the frat bros who turned him down think about their decision now, though I think I can probably guess they wished they would’ve just let him do his solos for his a capella group and still join the frat.

The full podcast is available below.

The post Luke Combs Recalls Having To Choose Between Joining A Fraternity Or Singing With His A Capella Group In College: “It’s Very Not Cool… But I Made The Right Choice” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.