Dan + Shay have plenty to celebrate lately. The pair are enjoying their status as the first-ever coaching tandem on season 25 of The Voice. Additionally, the “Speechless” singers announced in February that they will extend their successful Heartbreak on the Map tour well into 2024. And April 1 will mark 10 years since the release of their debut album, Where It All Began.
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It’s no wonder Dan + Shay were feeling emotional during their March 21 show at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. Gratitude poured from both Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney as they took in the sold-out hometown crowd. The moment was made even sweeter when the duo was joined by Ames Mooney, Shay’s middle son.
[RELATED: The Generational Love Story in Dan + Shay’s “From The Ground Up”]
Ames Mooney Joins His Dad Onstage at First Dan + Shay Show
Ames Alexander Mooney was a newborn the last time Dan + Shay performed before a Nashville crowd. On March 21, the now 4-year-old joined his dad onstage. (Shay shares two other sons, Asher James and Abram Shay, with wife Hannah.)
“This is his first-ever Dan + Shay show,” Mooney said. “Y’all make some noise for little Ames Alexander.”
The adorable, floppy-haired blonde boy grinned broadly as he ran onstage toward his doting father, who immediately swept him up in his arms.
Mooney held Ames closely as he thanked the band’s friends, family and fans in the audience.
“For our family, you guys have changed our lives,” Mooney said. “This is the only thing we’ve ever wanted to do since we were little kids, man.”
Shay to ‘Dreamers:’ ‘Keep Going, Man’
The country-pop vocalist directed his next words to “all you dreamers that are out there in the crowd.”
“This dream seemed like it was so far out of reach, man,” he said. “But because of all of you guys, for supporting us, for being there for us, you guys made it happen, man… From our family to yours, we love you guys.”
The best-friend team first met in December 2012, at a party at Dan’s Nashville home. “Shay and I were jamming that night, and we’ve been writing three songs a day every since,” Dan told Taste of Country in 2013.
It’s been a wild decade, bringing three GRAMMY Awards, 10 No. 1 singles and now a coaching stint on The Voice. Still, it seems like Dan + Shay are just getting started.
Featured image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
