Luke Grimes: From ‘Yellowstone’ to Nashville | Rolling Stone Nashville Now

Why It Matters

Grimes’ successful crossover validates authentic, actor‑driven country music, expanding both his fan base and Nashville’s creative boundaries.

Key Takeaways

• Grimes recorded most songs on Redbird within 24 hours.
• Producer Dave Cobb emphasized spontaneous writing and female perspective.
• Album blends vulnerable love themes with subtle outlaw influences.
• Recording split between Savannah’s immersive studio and Nashville’s RCA.
• Grimes leverages acting fame to challenge country music stereotypes.

Summary

Luke Grimes, best‑known for his role as Casey Dutton on Yellowstone, sat down with Rolling Stone’s Nashville Now podcast to discuss his new country album Redbird and the unconventional path that led an actor into Nashville’s music scene.

The record was forged in a burst of urgency: eight of the ten tracks were written the night before or the day of recording, often in collaboration with co‑writer Jesse Joe Dylan and a surprise female perspective that Dave Cobb insisted on adding. Cobb’s Savannah studio—an immersive house‑on‑the‑water setting—allowed Grimes to wake up, write, and cut songs within hours, while the remainder of the album was finished at RCA’s Nashville facilities.

Grimes highlighted the emotional stakes behind songs like “A Little More Time,” noting a line about seeing his father and son that felt too personal to perform again. He also cited Don Williams as a sonic touchstone, especially on tracks such as “I’m Not Going to Leave You,” and admitted that a tongue‑in‑cheek St. Patrick’s anthem “Drink, Drink, Drink” was deliberately added to balance the album’s intimacy with levity.

The project underscores how a high‑profile TV star can defy genre expectations, using authentic storytelling to bridge acting and songwriting. Grimes’ willingness to stay out of his comfort lane may inspire other cross‑disciplinary artists and signals a broader openness in Nashville to spontaneous, narrative‑driven recordings.

Original Description

Fans of gritty TV dramas know #lukegrimes from his role as Kayce Dutton on #yellowstone and now CBS’s Marshals, which airs its Season 1 finale on May 26. But Grimes is every bit the country singer and songwriter as he is accomplished actor. In this freewheeling episode of Rolling Stone’s Nashville Now podcast, the Ohio native turned Montana resident shares what went into his new album Red Bird, how he made the successful transition to all-around artist, and why he said yes to reviving the role of Kayce on CBS’s latest hit. It’s a Nashville-meets-Hollywood conversation, only on Nashville Now.

#country is here. #nashville is now. #countrymusic

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