Luke Grimes is best known for playing Kayce Dutton on the Paramount Network's beloved TV series Yellowstone. He's played Kevin Costner's youngest child on the popular western series, currently in its fifth season. Now, Grimes is embarking on a new career venture: country singer. In January of 2022, he announced that he'd been working with Range Media Partners, the team behind Midland, and his Yellowstone co-star Ryan Bingham. He even headed out to Nashville to really work on some serious songwriting. In fact, he's already started working on his country music career and recently finished writing a song with Jessi Alexander and Ben Hayslip. Alexander posted a photo of the three of them on Instagram announcing the song. He also recently teamed up with country singer-songwriter Hailey Whitters.
"No Horse to Ride"
Photo: Taylor Sheridan
Now, Grimes music career is officially in full swing. He released his debut single "No Horse to Ride," a heartfelt western ballad, on Dec. 16. The Dave Cobb-produced song, which Grimes wrote with Jonathan Singleton and Tony Lane, will appear in the mid-season finale of Yellowstone.
"I think of music as sort of a first love; it was my first creative outlet," Grimes shared in a statement. "To be at the start of this journey, putting my own music out into the world, is beyond a dream come true. I'm grateful to the people who helped make this happen and to anyone who connects with these songs, I will do my best to keep them honest."
The single comes on the heels of the news that Grimes signed a record deal with Universal Music Group Nashville.
"As an actor, Luke Grimes has effortlessly brought the cowboy lifestyle to the forefront of American culture," UMGN President Cindy Mabe said in a statement. "As a country music artist, Luke has tapped into that same honesty and authenticity to capture a raw grit and pure depth of artistry that will expand the sound and reach of country music. We are so excited and proud to welcome Luke Grimes to Universal Music Group Nashville."
Listen to "No Horse to Ride" here.
Luke Grimes is No Stranger to Country Music
Did you know that before he was riding horses and shooting guns up in Montana, Grimes was a drummer in an alt-country band?
"It was around that time when the alt-country thing was really going on. Wilco and Ryan Adams were really big then and we were kind of like that," Grimes told Rolling Stone.
"I played guitar too and helped write songs for the band, so I got to be more than just the drummer. It was a cool experience."
Grimes grew up in Dayton, Ohio, the son of a pastor who engrained in him a love and appreciation for some of the most legendary voices in country music.
"I hate this word, but the 'secular' music that I was allowed to listen to as a kid was Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash," Grimes explained. "That's the stuff my dad grew up on in the Appalachian Mountains. When he didn't have to be a pastor, he was playing that sort of folk and country-rock."
The Yellowstone star and his wife have been living up in Montana while filming his hit TV show and the experience has contributed to his songwriting. They have enjoyed listening to country artists that range from Ruston Kelly and Paul Cauthen to the late Townes Van Zandt.
Grimes tells Rolling Stone that the sense of quiet and isolation he's experienced up in Montana will definitely be apparent in his writing.
"This just happens to be what my life is right now. I'm driving a diesel truck on a highway with no one on it," he says. "That's the feeling you get being here."
"No Horse to Ride" Lyrics
I'd be spinning my wheels going nowhere fast
Pocket full of sorries and an empty glass
All hat and no cattle and some tumbleweed boots
I'd be blowing in the wind if I didn't have you
I'd be a drunk without a drink to drink
A guitar with a broken string
Without you, I'd be a falling star without a midnight sky
A cowboy with no horse to ride
I'd be driving in the dark with no headlights on
On a one way highway that didn't go home
I'd have to borrow from the devil just to pay my dues
I'd have nothing worth having if I didn't have you
I'd be a drunk without a drink to drink
A guitar with a broken string
Without you, I'd be a falling star without a midnight sky
I'd be a train running out of tracks
Missing pages in a paperback
Without you, I'd be the kind of lost that's hard to find
Walking through this world alive
A cowboy with no horse to ride
READ MORE: 'Yellowstone' Star Cole Hauser on Bringing 'Heart' to TV's Toughest Cowboy [Interview]
