Country singer and American Idol alum Kane Brown fought back tears as he paid tribute his late drummer, Kenny Dixon, while accepting a CMT Artists of the Year award in Nashville. The event took place Wednesday (October 17) just four days after Dixon’s death.
Dixon, 27, died in a single-car crash in Christiana, Tennessee, on Oct. 12, just a month before he was set to marry his fiancée, Sarah Hedrick, on Nov. 30 in his home state of Georgia. He had been with Kane’s band since the early days of the singer’s career.
“I want to dedicate this to my drummer Kenny,” Kane said, his voice full of emotion. “People didn’t think we would make it. He was with me the whole time. He was so supportive of me. I love you, man. I miss you. The band misses you.”
Fellow country singer Chris Young presented Kane with the award after acknowledging Dixon’s tragic death.
“Understandably, a lot of us can’t even imagine what he’s going through, but right now he felt it was really important to be here tonight,” Chris said before introducing Kane.
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After paying tribute to Dixon at the CMT awards show, Brown thanked everyone for their support. “I love the country community,” he said. “God bless you guys. Y’all stay safe. I love y’all.”
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Kane also paid tribute to Dixon with an Instagram message on Sunday.
“Love you so much dude!!!” Kane wrote. “You started all of this with me from the start in 2015 when nobody else believed we would make it out of Chattanooga playing for 500 people and your last show was in a Fn Stadium my guy. I know u will be watching over us with that redneck accent that we all love and you will never be replaced bro!!! I promise u that!!”
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