Luke & The Cool Hands

Watching a performance of Luke & The Cool Hands will showcase a wide variety of music within the Bluegrass genre, including covers and originals. Every instrumentalist and vocalist gets a chance to showcase their own unique abilities. Each set is thoroughly planned out for each event, with room for adaptability of requests from the listening audience.

Luke Shamblin's musical journey began with a poignant inheritance—the fiddle of his late grandfather, Bob Summers, in October 2001. After restoring the instrument, Luke began playing in January 2002 and quickly developed a passion for the mandolin, humorously recalling how he "had to mow a lot of lawns to afford my first one in July 2002." His dedication and mentorship from WV Bluegrass legend and WV Music Hall of Fame inductee, Buddy Griffin, through Glenville State College’s Bluegrass program led to performances with various local and regional bands, culminating in his professional debut with Bluegrass legend and IBMA Hall of Fame Inductee Melvin Goins in November 2007. Luke played with Goins until the summer of 2008 when rising fuel costs prompted Goins to downsize his band.

Just before completing his degree at Glenville State College in December 2010, Goins offered Luke a full-time position as the mandolin player, a role he held for three years. During this time, while not fulfilling his mandolin duties with Goins, Luke had the honor of sharing the stage with bluegrass icons such as Jesse McReynolds, Everett Lilly, Ronnie Reno, Doug Dillard, and many other esteemed musicians.

After graduating, while still a member of Melvin Goins & Windy Mountain, Luke recorded two solo projects: "Timing's Everything" in 2011 at Tom T. Hall’s “Fox Hollow” studio, and "Higher Ground" in August 2012 at ShayJack Studios in Ashland, KY. These recordings feature collaborations with prominent bluegrass artists, including Jesse McReynolds, Buddy Spicher, Don Rigsby, Chris Jones, Jon Weisberger, Buddy Griffin, Corey Hensley, Jack Hicks, and so many others.

In the last decade, Luke has furthered his education, earning a Master’s degree in Education while also coaching college softball. Though he has primarily played as a fill-in musician for local and regional bands in West Virginia and North Carolina, Luke is now embracing a career change that offers the flexibility to work remotely as an Academic Advisor. He is channeling this newfound freedom into creating new music and leading his own band, "Luke & the Cool Hands”, as well as the occasional solo and duet performance.