‘Yellowstone’ Star Luke Grimes Reflects On Difference Between Acting, Music

Luke Grimes introduced himself to fans in a new way — unveiling some “mystery” of who he is — with the release of his self-titled debut album on Friday (March 8). The award-winning and -nominated actor teamed up with producer Dave Cobb to bring his first-ever country album to life. Grimes co-wrote 10 of the 13 tracks, alongside well-respected songwriters in Nashville, Tennessee.

Grimes, 40, is widely known for his portrayal of Kayce Dutton on the smash-hit series Yellowstone, which premiered in 2018. The cast also includes Kevin Costner, Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley and others, and added reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Lainey Wilson as she made her acting debut in season 5. Last week, Grimes delivered a rendition of the first track on his debut album on the historic Ryman Auditorium stage in Downtown Nashville during the 2024 Country Radio Seminar (CRS).

1. Burn (Luke Grimes, Randy Montana, Josh Thompson)
2. Playin’ On The Tracks (Luke Grimes, Brent Cobb)
3. Hold On (Foy Vance, Ilsey Juber)
4. Black Powder (Luke Grimes, Brian Allen, Dave Cobb, Chris Powell)
5. Ghost Of Who We Were (Luke Grimes, Rodney Clawson, Nicolle Galyon)
6. Oh Ohio (Luke Grimes, Jessi Alexander, Jon Randall)
7. God And A Girl (Tucker Beathard, Dillon James, Jason Nix)
8. What Angels Do (Luke Grimes, Ryan Beaver, Bart Butler)
9. No Horse To Ride (Luke Grimes, Tony Lane, Jonathan Singleton)
10. Wait For The Rain To Die Down (Luke Grimes, Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, Liz Rose)
11. Ain’t Dead Yet (Luke Grimes, Aaron Raitiere)
12. South On 75 (Luke Grimes, Brent Cobb, Dave Cobb, Aaron Raitiere)
13. Worst Of Me (Hayes Carll)

“The one big way that they’re different is that, you know, there’s nothing to hide behind with the music,” Grimes said in a statement via his record label of the difference between his job as an actor and his job as a musician. “I feel like, you know, with the other job getting to know me was never part of the job. The point was that you didn’t get to know me, that you could believe me as something else and the more you get to know me maybe the less believable that is. So I think a lot of – you know a lot of mystery is a good thing for people who play characters versus the music is way more personal and it’s my words coming out of my mouth most of the time versus someone else’s. And the job here really is to let people in to the point where maybe they can relate and realize that it’s not – you know it’s not just them. We’re all human and we all go through things. And that’s the kind of music that I’ve always liked and the stuff that has always been important to me has been stuff that made me feel like we’re all kind of in this together and music is such a human thing and a shared experience. And any kind of story can be that but the actual, the voice is my own rather than someone else’s.”