When Luke Pell shipped out for Afghanistan during his five years of service in the army, there was one thing he learned that he couldn’t live without: His guitar. “I had my roommate at the time mail it to me,” he laughs.
His passion for music grew as he took solace in that trusty guitar while serving in the military. In fact, when he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point—which he attended on a full scholarship, thanks to those early football days in Texas—he was given his choice of army bases. He picked Fort Campbell in Kentucky because of its proximity to Nashville.
After moving to Music City, a couple years later Hollywood came calling. Luke appeared on The Bachelorette‘s 12th seasonand was rumored to be in line to become the 21st bachelor. Most recently, he appeared on The Bachelor Winter Games on ABC. But while America may recognize his face from reality TV, it’s his voice that commands attention.
On his debut self-titled EP, Luke shows off some of that anthemic Garth Brooks country with a distinct dash of Eric Church cool. It’s a style that has amassed him nearly two million streams on Spotify.
The singer-songwriter is no stranger to the road, either, having played 90 live shows in 2017 as well as a successful cross-country “Hometowns and Highways Tour” with Logan Mize in 2018, selling out several shows in Chicago, Des Moines and more. With new music on the way this fall, he’s excited for what’s to come and continues to embrace his roots. He knows getting here was no accident.