Luke Grimes is feeling musically inspired by his baby son!
Ahead of his debut at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville on Friday, Nov. 15, the Yellowstone star, 40, told PEOPLE exclusively that welcoming his first child with wife Bianca Rodrigues Grimes will likely “heavily” influence his next album.
“Man, having my baby has changed everything in every way possible,” says the musician, who released his self-titled debut album on March 8.
“I think people talk about your heart expanding a little bit every day, and it’s so true,” Luke continues. “It’s like there’s a love growing inside of me that I didn’t know I was capable of, and it’s incredible and it’s scary because you have so much more skin in the game. You know what I mean?”
Luke Grimes.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty
As he looks ahead to his next musical release, the singer says his second album “will be very heavily influenced by having (his son) around.”
“That’s the biggest influence in my life right now,” he explains.
Luke says his son’s birth has also brought him even closer to Bianca, whom he married in November 2018.
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“It’s brought me and my wife close in a way that I didn’t know we could be. There’s another level in the way that we love each other and how we have to be a team for this little guy,” he explains.
As Luke made his debut at the historic Nashville music venue on Friday, Bianca brought their son along for the performance, and the pair even joined him onstage for a brief shout-out.
“Hopefully the music doesn’t become this sort of cheesy love fest (now),” he jokes to PEOPLE, “but I’ve got to be honest with how I feel and we will see what comes out of that.”
Bianca Grimes and Luke Grimes in March 2022.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Bianca shared the news of their son’s birth in a heartwarming Instagram post on Oct. 17, writing simply, “And then there were 3.”
“It’s just been magical to watch,” Luke previously told PEOPLE of the experience of becoming a father.
The TV star said that although he always knew he wanted to pursue entertainment, starting a family remained his one “north star.”
“I knew one day I wanted to start my own family, and I knew that that was going to be where the real happiness came from. The other stuff was just going to pay the bills,” he said at the time.
Ultimately, that “other stuff” (Yellowstone included) doesn’t compare in Luke’s mind to “having my own family … my real life little family now is bringing me more joy than anything.”
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