Chris Stapleton paid tribute to the late Mike Henderson with a performance of The SteelDrivers’ “Where Rainbows Never Die.” Stapleton and Henderson co-founded the bluegrass outfit back in the early ’00s.
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“This is my first time back since a dear friend of mine passed away,” Stapleton told the audience in Charlottesville, Virginia. “I wrote ‘Broken Halos’ with him. I wrote ‘Midnight Train to Memphis’ with him. I wrote ‘Starting Over’ with him. I’ve been up here playing those songs tonight. I’m gonna play one for him tonight.”
[RELATED: 3 Songs You Didn’t Know Mike Henderson Wrote with Chris Stapleton]
Stapleton went on to explain his relationship with Henderson to those in the crowd who didn’t already know. After, he expressed his admiration for the members of his backing band.
“I consider myself just about the luckiest man in the entire world,” he added. “We get to come up a play for you fine folk every night. I also get to hang out with the guys on stage. I say funny things about them during the intros, but they really are some of the greatest fellas in the whole wide world. I learned how to be in a band from Mike Henderson.”
Stapleton opted to play the 2010 release, which he wrote for Henderson. “I wrote this song for Mike after his dad passed away and I kinda feel Mike was always my musical father,” the “Tennessee Whiskey” singer added. “I wrote more songs with that man than I ever wrote with anybody.”
Henderson’s death was announced on September 22. He was 69 years old. The Facebook post that confirmed his death also referenced “Where Rainbows Never Die.”
“I can’t begin to explain and share all the craziness and great times we all had together, but I will say, as I always have, it was all Hendo’s fault,” the band wrote. “So all The SteelDrivers, past and present, are in shock today as we have lost our original architect…we send our heartfelt condolences to Janet, Lauren, and Shannon. Hendo, we will see you again where rainbows never die.”
Watch his emotional performance, below.
Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage
