Noeline Hofmann on the Magic of Luke Bell’s ‘The Bullfighter’: ‘It’s a Mantra for Me’

By Joseph Hudak

Joseph Hudak

When Luke Bell died in 2022, the cult country-music songwriter left behind a wealth of songs that were so skillfully crafted they found their way to other aspiring writers. Noeline Hofmann was one of them, and after hearing Bell’s ballad “The Bullfighter,” she was empowered to launch her own music journey.

“I’ve been listening to Luke Bell since I was a teenager, and I especially resonated with ‘The Bullfighter’ when I made the decision to put all my cards on the table and start pursuing a music career full time,” Hofmann tells Rolling Stone’s Nashville Now podcast. “‘The Bullfighter’ was sort of a friend and a support to me. The lyrics of the song, the way that I understood them or took them — whether or not it was the way that Luke intended — was a mantra and a motto for me.”

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Hofmann recorded and released her version of “The Bullfighter” in 2025. “I started covering it in my sets, in the bars, and it has stayed in the set for years,” she says of the song. “It’s just been such an important part of my journey and my own personal life and connection that it had to be recorded, as a timestamp, and honoring the legacy of Luke.”

“The Bullfighter” followed Hofmann’s breakout song “Purple Gas,” which she cut as a duet with Zach Bryan and solo. The Canadian songwriter is currently working on her debut full-length album with producer Gena Johnson.

Bell died in August of 2022 from a fentanyl overdose, after going missing for nearly a week. Last fall, his family released The King Is Back, a posthumous 28-song collection of Bell’s recordings. The set was overseen by Bell’s mother Carol and his sister Jane. “Mentally-ill Luke was a really sad person to live with,” Carol told Rolling Stone. “In many ways, listening to this music gives my heathy son back to me.”

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