Luke Grimes may not be a new name to die-hard fans of Paramount Network's Yellowstone, but he's an undeniable newcomer in the sphere of country music. The actor-turned-singer officially kicked off his country music career with the release of "No Horse to Ride" in December 2022, and he has since released a handful of tracks.
Grimes is working with storied Nashville producer Dave Cobb on the new releases, and on an episode of Cobb's Southern Accents Radio on Apple Music, Grimes shared a bit about his upbringing and his journey from actor to singer.
Grimes told Cobb that country music has been part of his life for a long time, but it was hard to come by in his youth. Growing up in what he calls a "religious household" as the son of a pastor in Dayton, Ohio, Grimes and his family only listened to non-Christian music on very special occasions.
"We didn't really listen to a lot of secular music, music that was on the radio. It was mostly gospel stuff," Grimes says. "But when we would go hunting once a year, my dad sort of had this playlist of old outlaw country stuff that he would play."
Grimes says it was that playlist that introduced him to artists like Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings by way of songs like "Always on my Mind" and "Luckenbach, Texas."
Fast-forward many years later, Grimes is forging his own career as a country music singer. When speaking about this new career, Grimes makes it clear that he's not done acting. He will appear on the upcoming fifth season of Yellowstone and he has a main role in the recent Netflix movie, Happiness for Beginners.
He also shares that he felt a bit of hesitation when he took the step to record music, as if people would question this new move in his life.
"Because I came from another world entirely and was an actor for a long time, and I still am, of course there's this feeling of like, 'Is this cheesy? Is this goofy? Are people gonna take this seriously?'" Grimes shared with Cobb. "A lot of imposter syndrome."
In the end, Grimes says he decided to not allow that hesitation stop him from his dream. He is making also a point to approach his artist career in an "honest" fashion.
"I just kind of had to be like, 'Am I gonna let that debilitate me from doing this thing that I really want to try? And if I have an opportunity and I don't take it, I'll really kick myself one day,'" Grimes says. "So yeah, it was a crazy feeling, and I was very prepared to be judged or people think it was kind of a strange thing that I was doing. I've just tried to sort of approach it as honestly as possible."
