Ashley McBryde Tears Up Over Magical Opry Moment With Young Star In The Making

Ashley McBryde is opening up about a very unexpected and magical moment that came during a recent visit to the Grand Ole Opry, where she met a young fan named Sawyer June. In a new video, she recalls their chance meeting backstage, harmonizing together and experiencing an important reminder about the power of music.

Sawyer first caught McBryde’s attention during her performance in the coveted circle on Sunday, February 22. While delivering her heartfelt song “Light On In the Kitchen,” McBryde noticed a young girl, around 10 or 12 years old, and her mom make their way to the front of the audience and begin singing along to every word. This alone was special for McBryde, who admits she couldn’t watch them during the performance knowing it would cause her to get emotional.

The night carried on and she and her band packed up, ready to head out for the night. However, they stopped when they ran into a tour group, which just so happened to include Sawyer and her parents.

“I stopped and said hello to everybody. And the front of the tour was the young girl and her mom and her dad. I went over and shook her hand, and I found out her name and they gave me some pecans from their farm, which I love pecans,” McBryde shares. “And then they let me know that she is a singer as well. And her mom said that she sings ‘Bible And A .44’ really well.”

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This prompted Ashley McBryde to immediately take out her guitar and sing a few lines of the song with the fan she had just met. In the video that she embedded into the recap, we see the two of them sitting on the floor and connecting as they harmonized so effortlessly, without missing a single note.

The Arkansas native admits she was instantly blown away by how much talent and passion the girl possessed at such a young age.

“She didn’t miss a breath and her agility and vocal, just the quality of her voice was so good. And that’s not even the most magical part. She sat there and I sang harmony with her. And then the last chorus of ‘Bible and a .44,’ I asked everybody to sing and you can’t plan moments like these. But I knew it was important to sit down with her and told her that she’s a star, that I will see her on the Opry stage someday because I believe that.”

She says everything else that happened that night in the historic Nashville venue is now basically a blur, as it was all overshadowed by this one encounter. McBryde then pledged to follow Sawyer on social media in order keep up with her musical journey, knowing that she has a bright future ahead.

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Seeing the spark in the young singer’s eyes moved Ashley McBryde so much as it reminded her of why she does what she does as an artist.

“I talk about it often, having the chance to make records that might make people want to make records and write songs that make people want to write songs, to sing songs that might make somebody want to sing songs…she looked at me and said, ‘you’re my favorite singer and you always will be.’ And I said, ‘same,’ but I wanted you to hear that from me. That was a magical, magical, moment. That’s the whole point. The fire might’ve gotten lit tonight. That’s why we do anything we do. Only at the Grand Opry folks,” she said, concluding her message.

In a following post, McBryde shared the full video of them singing together. She let Sawyer take the lead, chiming in occasionally to harmonize and eventually invited the rest of the tour group to join them, making the moment even more special. As the camera panned around the room, it was clear that tears were being shed among those silently watching the magical performance.

At the very end, they shared a hug and each took a moment to thank the other for creating a lifelong memory.

“y’all, you’re gonna want to remember the name Sawyer June. I know I’ll never forget singing with her,” McBryde wrote in the caption. “I hope I’m there on the night you walk across the Opry stage, Sawyer June.”