Public Memorial and Celebration for Luke Bell Planned
This story has been updated.
The story of country artist Luke Bell’s unfortunate passing in late August at the age of 32 gripped the nation and world with a tale that is all too common these days. It was one of a brilliant and promising individual getting lost in the grips of mental illness, and slipping through the cracks of society. Though Luke Bell’s life and music were mostly resigned to obscurity when he was around aside from within a strong contingent of grassroots fans and fellow musicians who loved him, his passing finally brought Luke Bell the attention his musical contributions deserved.
Luke Bell was officially laid to rest in a private ceremony at the Christ Episcopal Church in Cody, Wyoming on September 9th. But now a public memorial is planned for Luke that will be taking place on Friday, November 12th at the Circle P Ranch in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville. Organized by close friend, caretaker, and fellow musician Matt Kinman and business manager Brian Buchanan, the public is encouraged to attend, as well as fellow musicians.
The event is from 12 pm to 6 pm, with a memorial in the chapel from 12:30 to 2:00, and folks paying tribute to Luke Bell by telling stories, singing songs, and remembering the singer and songwriter afterwards. Musicians wanting to participate are encouraged to show up, and can contact Matt Kinman at mattkinman71 at gmail dot com for more details. Folks can also feel free reach out via Saving Country Music’s Contact Page if more contact info is needed.
A Facebook Event has also been made for the memorial.
Originally from Cody, Wyoming, Luke Bell released a debut album on Bandcamp in 2014, then re-released it in 2016 after he signed to Thirty Tigers and booking agency WME. Bell opened shows for names like Willie Nelson, Hank Williams Jr., and Dwight Yoakam, and was recognized as one of the most authentic voices in country music at the time. But a tour set to occur after the release of his debut album never happened, and aside from some spotty shows here and there, Luke Bell melted into obscurity as he continued to deal with mental health issues.
“Unfortunately Luke suffered from the disease of mental illness, which progressed after his father’s death in 2015,” his family said in a statement after his death. “Luke was supported through his disease by a community of loving family and friends. Despite this, he was unable to receive the help he needed to ease his pain. Our hearts go out to the millions of people affected by mental illness who, like us, understand the devastating disappointment of a system that consistently fails to provide caring solutions to those who suffer.”
After Luke’s death, the story of his music, his life, and his passing achieved escape velocity. It was reported in thousands of news outlets, and even made it onto ABC’s World News Tonight—something that felt unprecedented for an artist that never achieved a charting single or album, or performed on a national broadcast previously.
October 14, 2022 @ 11:01 am
Never heard of this young man until his death. I have watched his YouTube recordings over and over . I have fallen in love at the age of 78. What a talented young man. His story is absolutely heart breaking. Just to think what his songs actually reveal about him.
October 14, 2022 @ 11:30 am
I don’t know why you continue to ignore his first self titled album from 2012. It’s of absolutely no lesser quality than the second and third album and it had a CD release. One could even argue it’s his best work. The second self titled album is only half new material as the rest of the songs on it are taken from the second album. For an artist with such a small discography, all options should be made known for people to discover. Thanks for the info on the public memorial.
October 14, 2022 @ 1:28 pm
Where can I find it
October 14, 2022 @ 1:35 pm
This is the problem right here. Rob Wilson is correct that there was a first album that was released, but it is not available anywhere except for maybe pirate sites, and when I asked Luke for a copy one time, he basically told me it doesn’t exist. He did release the record, but all indication were he wanted to distance from it. It’s very similar to the Sturgill Simpson/Sunday Valley situation, not with the album Sunday Valley widely released before pulling it, but the other album before that, that Sturgill did everything in his power to bury.
As for the 2nd and 3rd records, they’re both basically the same thing. The Bacndcamp release became the Thirty Tigers release. I’m not trying to hide anything here. I just don’t want to talk about a record that people can’t get, and the artist distanced from.
October 14, 2022 @ 6:44 pm
The third album (Luke Bell 2016) takes 5 songs from the second album (Don’t Mind If I Do) and has 5 new songs so they’re not the same. As far as the first album, an artist is often the worst judge of their own work. It’s great. Maybe Luke had a bad experience making it or was upset it didn’t do better. CD copies pop up occasionally on Ebay or Amazon.
October 14, 2022 @ 6:55 pm
https://www.allmusic.com/album/luke-bell-2012–mw0002439753
October 15, 2022 @ 4:27 pm
I hope they have a nice memorial for Luke.
I just want to give my 2 cents as a bipolar person. Honestly I don’t know Luke’s music but I will correct that.
First off, mental health profession don’t know what they’re doing. At least one told me that.
Second, when you are bipolar, they purposefully make you fat, depressed and barely functional. One more or less confessed that and I know all too well about that one.
Third, and this has a lot to do with the second, is self medication. I became a chain smoker and problem drinker and almost killed myself from this.
Also there’s the stigma. I hate how they always talk about stigma surrounding some idea/concept, as opposed to, ya know, people.
Lastly, the one thing I haven’t had straight out admitted to me (though, you know, read between the lines some) is that most mental health care when it comes to bipolar and I’m sure schizophrenia, is that the treatment you get as a patient is often not really for you. It’s for family, society, etc. I guess medical “ethics” don’t apply to loonies.
October 15, 2022 @ 8:26 pm
He was a wonderful singer just did not have his life straight out yet so RIP he will dearly be miss that for sure prayers go out to the family and friends God bless you all 🤣,🎶🎼🙏❤️❣️🌹🎈🎀😤