The multitalented actor/singer-songwriter will perform at the Stagecoach Festival this weekend.
Yes, to answer the obvious question: Luke Grimes, too, is getting mighty impatient for producer Taylor Sheridan to start work on the concluding Season 5 episodes of Yellowstone. And no, to answer the other obvious question: He has no idea what will happen to rancher John Dutton, Kevin Costner’s character — or even his own character, Kayce Dutton, John’s son — in the “final cycle” of the phenomenally popular neo-Western series.
But none of that means Grimes is cooling his heels at his home in Montana, sitting idly in a La-Z-Boy recliner and watching TV with his wife while waiting to be summoned by Sheridan.
The Ohio-born actor/singer-songwriter recently starred with Ellie Kemper in the Netflix romcom Happiness for Beginners, and soon will be seen opposite Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone and Austin Butler in Eddington, writer-director Ari Asters’ darkly comical contemporary Western thriller.
His self-titled debut album — called, well, Luke Grimes — was well received when it was released earlier this year, with one cut, “Hold On,” having already amassed 27.4M global streams, adding to Grimes’ nearly 105M total global streams to date of all his music. And on Saturday, he is returning to perform at the fabled Stagecoach Festival in Indio, California, one of several stops on his spring/summer touring schedule.
But wait, there’s more: Grimes has signed on to be a promotional partner for Carhartt, and is playing an active role in the apparel manufacturer’s “History in the Making" campaign.
Fortunately, even with all that going on, Grimes had time for a quick phone chat. Here are some highlights from our conversation.
Cowboys & Indians: Do you remember the first time you were walking down the street, or in line at the bank or whatever, and it hit you from the way people were looking at you that, damn, this Yellowstone show has kind of taken off?
Luke Grimes: Yeah, I do. And it was more of a slow burn than people realize, because the first two or three seasons, it had found an audience, but it wasn’t everyone yet. And so it would depend on where I was. If I walked around L.A. or New York, no one would know who I was. And then if I was in the Denver airport, then everyone would know who I was. And then all of a sudden, I remember, I think it was Season 4 when it really, really blew up to the point where the coasts were watching it too. And then it was just sort of like, anywhere I went, it was different. Everything was different. Everywhere I went was different — and it was a bit of a shock to be honest.
C&I: Now an outside observer might say, “Well, the TV show really helped boost your music career.” But have there ever been any conflicts — not just with Yellowstone, but with other projects? Is it difficult to balance a musical and an acting career?
Luke: Well, I mean, one of the big fears of mine about really taking the music more seriously and doing it more professionally is that, is everyone going to think I’m only doing this because of Yellowstone and because it had this big country music audience to begin with? Like, is it just going to come off as inauthentic? And I’m only doing it because it was just handed to me? That was the fear I had to get over and just go, “Look, this is something I want to do, I’ve always wanted to do, and I have this opportunity. And yes, I was afforded the opportunity because of the popularity of this other thing that I’m doing.” So it was a choice I had to make. “Do I want to do this and deal with whatever people might think? Or do I just not really care, and do it for myself and do it for the love of it?” And that’s sort of what it came down to, and that’s the decision that I made.
C&I: By the way, speaking of Yellowstone: Is there anyone in the Dutton family who hasn’t shot someone yet? I mean, geez, even your little son has already plugged someone.
Luke: [Laughs] Yeah, I think you’re right, I think everyone’s got a body count at this point. Clearly, I think Kayce’s probably the highest. Or it’s head-to-head with him and Rip.
C&I: But to be fair, Kayce probably has the edge. I mean, he was in a war, after all.
Luke: Yeah, man. It’s funny how there will be these moments in the show where we’re all at a fair, or we're all doing something on the ranch that’s sort of fun, and you just feel like this doesn’t feel right. It doesn’t feel like Yellowstone until the shit hits the fan and people are dying.
C&I: Tell us a little bit about your relationship with Carhartt. I understand that you and the company are behind a program, a campaign to tip the Stetson to the working people who are behind the scenes bringing entertainment to us.
Luke: Yeah, there’s just a long history of artists and athletes and different kinds of public figures doing brand deals. And a lot of times people in Hollywood, actors will sort of take the more high fashion, or European fashion sort of route. But I just felt like with the kind of work that I do, and the characters that I play, and between doing things like Yellowstone and country music and these things, if I were going to do that, I'd want it to be something that really made sense and was a through line with the projects that I do. And that all starts with the way I grew up and who I actually am. I come from working-class people and I tend to play working-class people because that’s what I know. So yeah, when an opportunity came up to do something with Carhartt, I sort of bit at the chance, and would’ve begged for it, just because I felt like if there was a brand that I’d want to be associated with, Carhartt would definitely be it. Because it speaks to who I am and my lifestyle and the kind of people that I surround myself with.
C&I: You are getting some free clothes out of this, right? I mean, otherwise, you are being seriously rooked.
Luke: [Laughs] Yeah. I have Carhartt to the teeth at this point, and I couldn’t be happier about it. I’m taking care of in every season. It’s awesome.
C&I: Are you worried that any possible concert tour might conflict with filming if and when production resumes on Yellowstone?
Luke: Not at all. Just because, clearly, I’d already been doing that for a while — and even contractually, Yellowstone kind of takes priority. But what’s great about the music is that you do it on your own terms as far as schedules, and you can tour when you want. There’s always going to be people out there, no matter what time of year, that want to go to a show, and hear some country music. So we’ve just kind of been basing all that off of when I’m available. And so even with this last season that we’re filming coming up, I’ll have some festivals on the weekends that’ll be pretty easy for me to get to, and then come back and get back to work on Yellowstone. So it’s working out really great, actually.
C&I: Well, Luke, you know I talked with your TV dad a couple of weeks ago.
Luke: Oh, Kevin?
C&I: And he wouldn't be pinned down on this, either. But after Costner presents part one of Horizon at Cannes in May, he should have a little time before he resumes production of the follow-up epics. So could we possibly hold out hope for a family reunion?
Luke: I don’t know. I mean, to be honest, I have no idea. They don’t tell me these things for I think exactly this reason — so I don’t say the wrong things in interviews.
C&I: Taylor Sheridan keeps his cards very close to his vest. Always has.
Luke: He sure does.
