Country Star Luke Combs Shares Story Of Smoking Weed With His Idol Willie Nelson

Country star Luke Combs, who released his latest LP “Growin’ Up” last week, said he is also still celebrating something that would make many people green with envy: sharing a joint with Willie Nelson.  

In a recent interview on the Full Send Podcast, Combs, who had just wrapped up a songwriting festival in Hawaii, told the story of paying Nelson a visit. 

One of the festival organizers had invited Combs to play golf and then head over to Nelson's beach house for one of his legendary poker games. Combs, of course, accepted. Who wouldn’t?

Inspired By Willie Nelson

Combs said on SiriusXM in 2019 that he'd been inspired by Willie Nelson throughout his career. At 21 and a student at Appalachia State University, when he was teaching himself guitar, Combs said he'd "wake up every morning, get a little spliff happening" and played Willie Nelson's "Stardust" album "from front to back a hundred times in a row over the course of a year and a half."

Combs had met Nelson briefly over the years, but this was the first time he'd been in his home and smoked weed with him.

Once In A Lifetime

“So we get in there, we’re talkin’ for a minute, dude, he rips the piece out, dude, you know what I mean? The peace pipe. And I’ve heard the stories, bro, it’s like, don’t, you know. Toby Keith has a song called 'I’ll Never Smoke Weed With Willie Again,' you know what I mean?" said Combs who added that Willie's Maui house looked like it was straight out of a 1970’s suburb.

"I’ve heard the song, I’m aware of the moment, you know. And I go, 'All right, man, when this thing comes, you only got one, dude, you can’t go twice, dude, on this deal.'” 

Combs said he was impressed with Willie Nelson's physical strength and intellectual clarity. In the middle of the poker game, Willie got up and walked down the hall to where a punching bag hung. 

“And he stands there and like, arms out, like full karate kid and starts just kicking this punching bag," Combs said. "Tossing crane kicks, dude, he’s 84, and like, just hammering this punching bag. And I’m looking at the poker table, and I’m like, what is happening?"  

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