“I think the Cyclones are really hot in a lot of areas right now, and you know, I think this is just one more verification of that,” said Sr. Associate AD Nick Joos.
AMES, Iowa — Country music fans can soon head to Jack Trice Stadium to hear the songs of Luke Combs, an internationally-recognized country artist.
Combs will travel through eight countries during his “My Kinda Saturday Night” tour, and while he’s in the U.S., Iowa is on the list. Combs will play at Jack Trice Stadium at Iowa State University on April 11, 2026.
Though the concert is still six months away, the recent announcement has fans, students and staff gearing up for the big night. Nick Joos, ISU’s senior associate athletics director, said it was a combined effort between ISU staff and Combs’ team to bring such a notable musician to Iowa.
When Local 5 asked if ISU felt they were at the right time and place to host Combs, Joos said the Cyclones’ reputation may have helped.
“The Cyclones are really hot in a lot of areas right now,” Joos said. “I think this is just one more verification, validation if you will, of that.”
In May of 2024, the stadium welcomed George Strait, another coined country legend. Joos told Local 5 that Straight’s concert helped prepare staff for what they anticipate will be another sold-out concert in April.
“I think we learned a lot from the George Strait concert,” he said. “This will be different in the fact that this concert will be when they were in school, whereas the George Strait concert was when they were out of school.”
As Joos mentioned, Combs’ performance will take place during the school year, which might mean more students in attendance. ISU sophomore Haylee Hardin said she’s very excited to see him live.
“I’ve listened to him for a long time,” Hardin said. “He’s like one of my favorite country artists.”
Her friend and fellow sophomore Aubree Guinee brought up one song that defined the pair’s freshman year.
“‘One Number Away’ — our entire freshman year. That was our thing,” Guinee said.
Hardin and Guinee are both part of Iowa State’s gymnastics team. They say they found out about Combs coming to Iowa Thursday morning just before practice, and from there, their team immediately started planning to go.
“It’s right after our season, so it’s like perfect timing,” Guinee said. “We’ll just be done. Everything will be winding down, so it’ll be like an end-of-the year-hurrah.”
