Luke Grimes has a country album on the way.
The ‘Yellowstone’ and ‘Fifty Shades’ actor – who plays Kayce Dutton in the Emmy-nominated neo-Western drama series and Elliot Grey in the blockbuster erotic trilogy, respectively – is never without his beloved guitar and is constantly playing even when he’s not working on a record.
Luke, 38, told Country Living: “The first place I moved after Ohio was New York City. Having a drum set in New York is impossible—your neighbors would kill you—so I got a guitar and started teaching myself chords.
It’s been a part of my life ever since. If I have an acting gig, I always have a guitar. And not just because I’m working on an album.
It’s always been a little buddy that I can take around anywhere. It’s somewhere to put some of that energy when you’re in a new place and don’t know what else to do.”
It was his pastor father who got the ‘American Sniper’ star into country music.
He said of his childhood musical influences: “Church music was the first music in my life. My dad was a pastor, and I was at church three days a week. I was the church drummer starting at age nine.
“From there, my dad listened to Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard—all of those old-school outlaw country guys.
We would always play that on boys’ trips. It’s what got me into country music.”
Luke used to be the drummer of the alt-country band Mitchells Folly, and he’s set his sights on returning to his roots.
He previously said: “I think it would be weird if Kayce stared singing.
“But here pretty soon, you’ll see Luke singing.”