Luke Bell Re-Emerges in Live Event with Matt Kinman

As an addendum to The Search for Luke Bell, the elusive country music singer and songwriter originally from Wyoming re-emerged Sunday afternoon (7-27) after a long period of being out of the public eye. The occasion was a live stream event with close friend and common collaborator Matt Kinman.

“You say, ‘Where has he been?’ Well he’s been everywhere. But he’s here right now,” Matt Kinman said at the beginning of the presentation broadcasting on Facebook Live from outside of Boone, North Carolina. The two spent just over an hour swapping songs, with Matt Kinman running through many of the bygone early country standards that he’s known for revitalizing as an artist for Smithsonian Folkways.

Along with playing some of his best known songs like “Sometimes” and “Where Ya Been,” Luke Bell played a couple of new songs, including one called “Traveling Mercies” he said was named by his mom, and another called “Rooster Jim.” He also played numerous classics including “Another Day, Another Dollar,” The Jimmie Rodgers song “Waiting for a Train,” and Boxcar Willie’s “Lonesome Joe,” which seemed appropriate for the way the conversation went between Luke and Matt Kinman.

“I’ll tell you the truth, I picked him up beside the railroad tracks and he was pouring sweat,” said Kinman. “I don’t know if he was trying to outrun a train or what.”

“I did catch a few trains and missed a few,” Luke Bell responded. “I rode around Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, and had a big time everywhere I went.”

“But he’s back now to do things bigger and better, ain’t that right? So stay tuned,” said Kinman. “You don’t know what’s coming around the bend.”

The whole presentation can be seen below.

Luke Bell caught national attention when he was singed with WME and Thirty Tigers, and began opening shows for names like Willie Nelson, Hank Jr., and Dwight Yoakam. Bell released his debut, self-titled record later in 2016 to much positive reception as one of the most authentic voices in country music.

But a tour set to occur after the release never happened, and aside from some spotty shows here and there—including a performance at Pickathon outside of Portland in 2017 where Matt Kinman also appeared—Luke Bell has been mostly out of the spotlight, leading to much speculation and some concern about his whereabouts.

Well he’s round about North Carolina at the moment. Stay tuned.