It’s not quite naked bongos, but it’ll do… Along with being one of the best actors of our generation, Matthew McConaughey has long been known for supporting and hanging around some good old country music. From his professed love of Sturgill Simpson, to singing Johnny Cash on stage, to his friendship with Jamey Johnson and appearing in Zach Bryan’s “Nine Ball” music video, McConaughey sure knows a thing or two about good music and a clip from an appearance at a Luke Combs show is making its way around online and it shows, yet again, that he just seems like a great hang. Last month, Luke Combs headlined the Mack, Jack & McConaughey (MJ&M) Gala at Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater in Austin, Texas and while a lot of people got fired up watching McConaughey and Luke shotgun a beer during Combs’ set, this clip shows that the two spent a little more time on stage together than just that moment.
During a cover of Steve Earle’s classic “Copperhead Road,” a seemingly tipsy Matthew McConaughey walked out on stage and directly over to the congas. Now, if you’re as deep a fan as I am that should immediately trigger a story in your mind, but if you haven’t heard it, here’s the short of it: Back in 1999, McConaughey was living in Austin and there was some big event in town for the weekend (I believe it was a football game) so in typical Texas fashion, McConaughey went on a bender.
After being up for who knows how many hours, drinking who knows how much and ingesting who knows what other substances, he stumbled his way back home. Instead of immediately crashing into bed and sleeping for a week, he decided he needed to unwind with a little music, so he stripped naked and began playing his bongos and dancing around his apartment. He must have made quite a bit of noise because the neighbors called in a noise complaint and officers were greeted by a completely naked (except for a UT bandana on his head) McConaughey.
He was arrested for the noise and bong found inside and spent the night at the Travis County Central Booking Facility. The whole thing was eventually settled with a plea deal and nothing else came from it, but it certainly added a bit of mystique to the budding career of the actor who at that point was known for Dazed and Confused, A Time To Kill and EdTV. Though he (thankfully) stayed fully clothed for this night at the Moody Theater, it was a great night nonetheless and shows me yet again that I’d do some wild things to get to spend a day hanging out with both Luke Combs and Matthew McConaughey.
