Artists bringing family, talented kids or members of the military onstage has been a consistent perk for country music fans since the return of big-time tours. The crowd at Lady A's recent What A Song Can Do tour stop in Evansville, Ind. got two out of three in one fell swoop when opening act Carly Pearce introduced them to her sister Cristy.
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"Last night was such a special night for my family. I surprised my sister (she wanted to kill me) & brought her up on stage, asking the crowd for their prayers as she heads to Kuwait this weekend to serve as a Captain in the National Guard," Pearce wrote on social media. "What a beautiful moment it was for someone I admire & love so much. We also together gave a moment of silence for the devastating loss our country experienced this past week & cheered for all of the men & women who have served that were in the crowd. Cristy, thank you for your service. I love you & I'll miss you, but am so damn proud of you."
The moment of silence celebrated the bravery of the 13 members of America's Armed Forces killed recently during an attack at the airport in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
CNN reports that Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss, Navy medic Maxton Soviak and 11 Marines (Rylee McCollum, Daegan Page, Hunter Lopez, Jared M. Schmitz, Nicole L. Gee, Darin T. Hoover, Kareem M. Nikoui, Johanny Rosario Pichardo, Humberto A. Sanchez, David L. Espinoza, and Dylan R. Merola) died while serving their country.
Pearce has had an eventful summer, becoming the Grand Ole Opry's latest member (following an invite from Dolly Parton) and celebrating Lee Brice duet "I Hope You're Happy Now's" multi-platinum status. Her big year will get bigger on Sept. 17 when Big Machine Records issues 29: Written in Stone, an extension of her 29 EP.
