- Greetings music lovers!

Welcome to Music Matters.

I am your host Apolonia Davalos.

Together we explored the how and why music matters to you, our community and our featured artists (Upbeat cheery music) (Upbeat music continues) - [Apolonia] Today we connect with country music artist, Lucas Hoge.

Earning a number one spot on billboard country music charts.

Lucas has won our hearts with his grounded lyrics support of our troops overseas and his commitment to composing audio novels to stand the test of time.

Ladies and gentlemen, Music Matters is proud to introduce the one and only Lucas Hoge.

(country music playing) - [Man On Stage] What's up everybody?

- [Lucas] I believe music matters in so many different ways.

It's to me, it's the universal language.

It breaks down barriers for communication.

In other ways that, you know, normally you might not be able to communicate with that person or that group of people.

And as soon as you start playing some music, just a different language, it just speaks to everyone.

I guess, if I had to pinpoint an epiphany moment in my music career, it'd be at a very, very young age.

When I realized that music was going to be able to take me everywhere in this world.

And I realized very, very early on that when I started learning these instruments and I picked up this guitar and it just started coming to me naturally that my guitar was going to be my passport out of my little small town of Hubble.

And it was going to take me all over the world, but I had no idea exactly how far it was gonna take me.

(country singing) - [Lucas] Definitely have been some incidences where people have hit me on social media and said that this song or that song has helped them get out of a, you know, a down point in their life or, you know, they've used it in their wedding and it really pinpointed a timestamp their, their life, you know, and that moment in time.

But there was this moment where I was doing a cowboy church out in Pueblo, Colorado, and I had just finished it and they were live streaming this song over the radio station that I had just written for this lady who was in hospice care.

And it was called, "How was I to know?"

And I just finished doing this service and this lady comes pulling up to the church and she said, I just heard your song on the radio.

And I was contemplating whether or not I was going to take my life.

And she said, I heard that song and it stopped her in her tracks.

And she's still doing great, better than she ever was.

And she, she credits it to that song.

How was I to know.

Which I get goosebumps every time I hear that story because if I, if that's the only thing my music has ever done is saved that one life to me, that's pretty amazing.

(Light guitar music) - [Lucas] Well, performing overseas for our troops is something that's near and dear to my heart to begin with.

A lot of my family was in the military.

My dad was in the air force, my dad and my uncle was an MP in Vietnam in the Marines and so on.

And so on down to my cousins who are still in the military today.

So I knew that, you know, at a young age, I thought I wanted to go into the military, but then I realized very quickly that I was nowhere shape or form wired to be in the military.

I'm just not that good of a person, I guess, because they are the best of us.

And I knew I wanted to give back in some way, shape or form.

And I think that this was the only way that I was going to be able to do that.

And I give two weeks of my life.

That's nothing right to go overseas and look our service men and women in the face and tell them, thank you for everything they do, because it's not for them over there protecting our freedoms here.

We can't do what we want to do with our lives on American soil.

So I love our service, men and women dearly and going overseas every single year has just increased that love and respect because the loyalty, the dedication, the sacrifice that all these men and women do for us is beyond compare and getting to see exactly what they go through day in and day out, intensifies that respect for what they do for us.

So I'm going to keep doing it as long as I possibly can, because I'm very honored that they continue to ask me to come back and perform for them.

I grew up in a super small town of 44 people in rural Nebraska called Hubbell, Nebraska.

And my mom and dad were very, very active in music.

And my mom's a short story writer.

She writes poetry and songs on her own as well.

So I came by that part very, very naturally.

And we grew up in this really small church where maybe at the peak of the congregation, there was 15 people in this little one room church, you know, and when they would go do like worship music and stuff like that, and go practice with the preacher at the parsonage, they'd take me.

I was just a little kid and they kind of sent me in the corner to my own devices.

And one day I remember the preacher bringing like a electronic little drum set, right?

Like a little pad and she'd sent me in the corner.

And so I could play with it.

And all of a sudden I was keeping like perfect time with what they were singing in that she looks over at me.

She's like, he's keeping like perfect time with what we're singing and playing.

And after that, she took me into the high school and introduced me to the band teacher and said, you might want to help this kid along.

He's got something natural about his music ability.

And after that, I knew that I knew that music was part of me and I wanted to keep that alive and really cultivate that.

So definitely family and friends and all the things that, that helped me cultivate that music career is right there in that little small town of Hubbell, Nebraska.

- [Apolonia] Lucas.

Thank you so very much for your time, your wisdom and, and really allowing us to let in on your personal journey.

- [Lucas] It is my pleasure.

Thank you for having me.

I really appreciated talking with you and looking forward to all that you do for everyone.

It's pretty cool.

- [Apolonia] Thank you.

So be sure to visit his website, learn more at lucashub.com and give him a follow on his social media.

And we want to hear your feedback about the words of wisdom he shared with us today.

So let us know because music matters.

We also like to thank the Levitt Shell Sioux falls concert sponsor for today, Dan and Arlene Kirby.

And of course thank you to the Mortimer and Mimi Levitt foundation and your mission to build community through music.

So again, we want to hear from you, I am your host Apollonia.

Davalos music matters, stay tuned so we can hear how and why it matters to our community.

We'll see you next time.

I love you.

Mwa!

(Upbeat music) - [Abby] It's so fun.

And it brings like so many different people together.

So it's like one thing that can unite us all.

And like, this is like so awesome.

Cause we are from like, not even here and we just feel so like comfortable with.

(Crowd) We love the Levitt