Luke Combs tribute act lands US tour

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c86qg798nedo

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The band have the backing of their namesake for their US tour in February

A Country and Western tribute band from Wolverhampton have become such a big hit that they have been invited to tour the US.

Luke Combs UK, made up of teachers from Wolverhampton and Telford and Wrekin, formed to mimic the Grammy-nominated Country singer - who has also since given his full support to the band.

The group is riding a wave of popularity for the music genre and are now preparing to hit the US next year.

Being acknowledged by the star was a great accolade, lead singer Liam Price said.

The Grammy-nominated singer has had a strong of hits

"We don't talk like Luke," he added.

"We don't talk in American accents. We stick with our Midlands accents, we tell people we're from Wolverhampton.

"People love that human side of it, it's not all a front."

Lead singer Liam is from Wolverhampton and works at a high school, coaching girls football.

Dave the drummer is a percussion teacher in the Telford and Wrekin area and keyboard player Steve, from Wolverhampton, is also a piano and music teacher.

Dan the guitarist is a peripatetic music teacher for Telford and Wrekin Music Service and Scotty B on the bass, works in special needs in Wolverhampton.

There are some similarities between Luke Combs (left) and Liam Price, lead singer of the tribute band

The real Luke Combs, however, is 34 years old and born in North Carolina.

His first five singles all went to number one in the Country and Western charts and last year won single of the year at the Country Music Association Awards for his cover of Tracy Chapman's Fast Car.

He is also seemingly a big fan of his Wolverhampton counterparts, the band said.

"They also reached out to us, his management team and the artist himself to say that we've got their blessing and they support what we're doing which is amazing," Mr Price added.

"It's probably the highest accolade we can get really."

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