From 'Yellowstone' to a debut country album, Luke Grimes is ready to reintroduce himself

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. And any time I’ve prepared to do anything creatively, music has been a huge part of that.” Produced by the legendary Dave Cobb, “Luke Grimes” the album is diaristic at times, an open-book record with songs about love, loss, God and rural living, universal topics from an artist with a knack for articulating truths, warts and all. And this was more of a breakup letter.” As for those who might not consider Ohio a hotbed for country music: “People sometimes confused ‘country music’ with ‘Southern music,'" he says. And there's plenty of that in Ohio.” Aaron Raitiere, a songwriter for Cobb who contributed to two songs on the album — the slow-burn highway ballad “South on 75” and the Western stomp “Ain't Dead Yet" — says Grimes is a “musician in his soul.” “He may very well be one of the best songwriter/singer/performers of our generation, trapped in a superstar actor's body,” Raitiere said. “So, we went the ‘Nirvana Unplugged’ route and threw it down a country lane.” “That's kind of the magical part of the whole process, that there are no rules,” says Grimes.