Luke Combs Eden Park January 17, 2025 (13th Floor Concert Review)

Luke Combs is the first Country artist to headline a full stadium tour down under, and he kicked things off last night at Auckland’s Eden Park.

Combs was last here in 2023 when he sold out Spark Arena when he was supported by Cody Johnson and Lane Pittman.

Pittman is back on the bill along with American Country stars Mitchell Tenpenny and Jordan Davis. Doors opened at 4:00 with Pittman on at 4:30.

The Auckland skies were threatening but spirits were high as we entered the stadium…too late to catch Pittman, but just in time for Mitchell Tenpenny.

Mitchell Tenpenny

Seeing the stocky performer on stage dressed in black and sporting a full beard, one might have though Combs himself had gone on early. As Jordan Davis would eventually prove, it was something of “the battle of the beards” on stage for the remainder of the evening.

These days, Country music owes as much to Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Allman Brothers as it does to Hank, Waylon and Willie. Tenpenny and his band certainly nailed that classic 70s country rock sound with the 35-year-old throwing in a cover of the Goo Goo Dolls’ 1998 hit Iris for good measure. The crowd jumped at the chance to singalong with that unforgettable chorus…”I just want you to know”…you know how it goes.

Jordan Davis

It’s just after 7pm and time for Jordan Davis. Yes, he’s sporting a bushy black beard, but he’s dressed in white, possibly so we can tell him apart from the others. His sound is very similar to Tenpenny and Combs.  Set opener, Damn Good Time steals (or I should say, “borrows”) the riff from The Stones’ Honky Tonk Women and the song itself namechecks Skynyrd.

“Anybody drinkin’ whiskey tonight?” Davis asks with a knowing smile as he launched into Whiskey Weak.

It’s a tight, slick 40 minute set with one song seamlessly leading into the next. Along the way, Davis signs a fan’s hat, mentions the All Blacks, plays his latest single, I Ain’t Sayin’, and slows down briefly to let us, and him, catch out collective breaths with Tucson Too Late, a song about family.

Country music hasn’t changed all that much as there are plenty of songs heard tonight about family, fishing, trucks, whiskey and beer. All that was missing was a dog.

Luke Combs

The weather has turned in our favour, the stadium has filled up nicely and fans are ready to party as Luke Combs and his band take over at 8:15 and a pre-set warmup singalong to Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline, blasted over the PA.

Combs and co hit the ground running with Must’ve Never Met You, She Got The Best Of Me and Lovin’ On You. The crowd is singing its heart out, Luke is wearing an All Blacks cap but I notice the sound is a bit murky.

When Combs stops to chat, as he does quite often during the nearly two-hour set, it’s difficult to make out exactly what he’s saying. And because folks can’t hear him, they start making their own noise and for a while the crowd chatter threatens to overtake Luke’s.

Most of those problems disappear when the music starts, although it still sounded like the guitars were struggling to get through.

At one point Combs tried to connect with the audience…”I want to tell you a little bit about myself…” but sadly, from where we were (in the stands, not far from the stage) he was inaudible. I spoke to a few folks who were down on the ground and they told me they had no trouble hearing the banter.

We were treated to a brand new song, possibly titled I Ain’t No Cowboy. Luke told us, “I never played this song before…it might be good, it might be bad”.

For the record, it was very good.

The energy level started to rise after a band intro-medley that included a bit of Train’s 2001 hit, Drops Of Jupiter. Meanwhile, local aspiring country star Rosie Teese had hired a plane to fly a banner of the stadium for some exposure and I think she got her money’s worth.

Luke Combs’ set accelerated with Fast Car (sorry, I couldn’t resist) after a lengthy, muffled introduction that went on for 5 minutes. From there we were rockin’… Hurricane and Cold As You got things going and Beer Never Broke My Heart took us home.

But not yet.

Combs encored with three more rockers beginning with Better Together which wound up being a huge singalong. Finally, after 25 songs and 113 minutes and one shoey (from a boot) the night was over. There was no rain, instead lots of songs, smiles and singalongs as a well-behaved crowd enjoyed a beautiful summer night at a well-run show.

Marty Duda

Click on any image to view a photo gallery by Michael Jeong

Luke Combs:

Jordan Davis:

Mitchell Tenpenny:

Luke Combs Setlist:

1. Must’ve Never Met You
2. She Got The Best Of Me
3. Lovin’ On You
4. Honky Tonk Highway
5. Brand New Man
6. One Number Away
7. Houston, We Got A Problem
8. Remember Him That Way
9. I Ain’t No Cowboy (new song)
10. Going, Going, Gone
11. Medley: Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?/Drops Of Jupiter/What Was I Thinkin’
12. Where The Wild Things Are
13. Dive
14. Love You Anyway
15. Forever After All
16. Beautiful Crazy
17. Fast Car
18. Hurricane
19. Cold As You
20. When It Rains, It Pours
21. 1, 2 Many
22. Beer Never Broke My Heart
23. Better Together
24. Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma
25. The Kind Of Love We Make

Jordan Davis Setlist:

1. Damn Good Time
2. Singles You Up
3. Whiskey Weak
4. Almost Maybes
5. Tucson Too Late
6. Next Thing You Know
7. Slow Dance In A Parking Lot
8. I Ain’t Sayin’
9. Take It From Me
10. Buy Dirt
11. What My World Spins Around

Luke and the boys do it all again tonight at Eden Park:

SATURDAY 18 JANUARY
​Eden Park | Auckland, NZ
​ticketmaster.co.nz