On Wednesday night (Oct 16), many a country artist came together to honor the 7 CMT Artists of the Year awardees.
Every year, CMT chooses several artists who have made an impact on the genre, and this year they selected Carrie Underwood, Dan + Shay, Thomas Rhett, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Ashley McBryde, and Reba McEntire.
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It had to have been a bittersweet night for Kane Brown. Last Saturday, Brown’s longtime drummer, Kenny Dixon, passed away in a car accident.
Brown’s team confirmed the passing with a statement which reads, “It is with profound sadness and disbelief that we confirm we lost our drummer Kenny this weekend in a tragic car accident. Kenny was a member of our family from the very beginning and our hearts are with his fiancé Sarah, his son, and everyone who knew and loved him. He was truly one of the greatest and kindest people on and off stage we’ve ever known.”
The singer shared a tribute to his friend and drummer on Instagram, saying, “Love you so much dude!!! You started all of this with me from the start in 2015 when no body else believed we would make it out of Chattanooga playing for 500 people. I know u will be watching over us with that red neck accent that we all love and you will never be replaced bro!!! I promise u that!!”
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During Brown’s speech, he dedicated the award to his dear friend, Kenny Dixon.
“Thank y’all so much,” he said through tears. “I want to dedicate this to my drummer, Kenny. He started with me comin’ out of Chattanooga off Facebook. People didn’t think we would make it. He was with me the whole time. He was so supportive of me, and I love you man, I miss you. The band misses you.”
Thomas Rhett was so moved by Brown’s words and his clear love for his dear friend that he used his time on stage accepting his award to pray for Dixon.
He said, “Kane’s speech, I don’t even know if Kane’s here anymore, but I just want to lift up Kane and his family, and I want to lift up his drummer and their family.”
After getting a round of applause, he said, “I don’t know if this is conventional, but can I just pray? Is that okay with everybody?”
He closed his eyes, bowed his head, and prayed, “Father God, we love you so much, loss is something we can’t comprehend. So right now I pray that you be with Kane and his family, and his drummer and his family, and bring them peace that only you know how to bring somebody.”
A GoFundMe was set up to benefit Kenny Dixon’s fiancé and his son. You can donate by clicking here.
Watch Thomas Rhett’s prayer in the video below.