There wasn’t a dry eye at the Grand Ole Opry after Ashley McBryde took the stage. The country singer was one of several artists who stepped out on Sunday to perform at Band As One Nashville, a charity concert for Susan G. Koman.
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When McBryde first took the famed stage, she made sure to acknowledge Trisha Yearwood, who put on the event.
“It’s an easy one to say yes to if you’ve got the gumption to sing in front of somebody who is part of the reason you sing,” McBryde said of Yearwood. “When we put this song on the record she was who I had to channel to see if I could do it.”
She then proceeded to perform “What If We Don’t,” which she released in 2016.
Her performance didn’t end there, though. The real show-stopper came next, when McBryde sang “Bible And A .44,” a song she penned in honor of her dad.
McBryde got visibly emotional as she sang the track, and the audience was no different. After she finished the song, McBryde told the crowd, “If you’re wiping tears off your face, I’m sorry and I’m so glad you have somebody that comes to mind when you hear that song.”
The audience responded in the only way they could, by giving McBryde a standing ovation as she left the stage.
What to Know About the Band as One Charity Concert
Yearwood put on the show for the second year in a row to raise money for breast cancer research. The cause is near and dear to her heart, as her mother battled the disease.
“Music heals, period,” Yearwood said in a video that was played at the event. “If you go to a concert, no matter what’s going on in your life, you can celebrate, you can cry, you can have an experience that is unlike any other event I can think of.”
“What I want people to walk away with is joy that they had a good time, and they could forget whatever they’re going to do in the moment,” she added. “And hope, because Band As One is about hope.”
In addition to McBryde, Yearwood tapped stars including The War and Treaty, Charles Kelley, and Reba McEntire to perform.
On top of epic performances, the evening also included a live auction where well over $150,000 was raised for the cause.
Photo by Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images
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