The duo we need.
Over the weekend, Miranda Lambert put on her first-ever Music for Mutts benefit concert, which raised money for her MuttNation Foundation that she founded as a 501c3 nonprofit with her mother, Bev, in 2009. She has already donated over $100,000 to Hurricane Helene relief through the origination, so I can only imagine she raised it quite a bit since last week.
She had surprise guests like Riley Green, and of course, did a few performances with her openers in Jake Worthington (who just singed with her label Big Loud Texas), as well as Lukas Nelson, who joined her for a very special song (we’ll get there).
Riley was able to join the show last-minute, because his previously scheduled headlining gig at Field & Stream fest in Winnsboro, South Carolina, was canceled because of the devastation hurricane that wreaked havoc over the southeast.
Naturally, the two teamed up for a beautiful, acoustic performance of Riley’s fan-favorite song “I Wish Grandpas Never Died.”
He wrote it after both of his grandfather’s had passed away, and I think it’s clear in the lyrics that both were important men that shaped Riley’s life and ultimately, the man he is now. Obviously, the sentiment of losing a person like that, who is so influential in your life, is something pretty much anyone can relate to and a large part of the reason it became so popular.
Both Riley’s Grandaddy Buford and Grandaddy Lyndon are listed as co-writers along with Riley, and the song has since been certified Platinum.
Miranda shared part of the performance on her Instagram, and it looked like it was certainly one of the highlights of the show:
Easily the other highlight was when Miranda and Lukas took the stage to cover Merle Haggard’s “Silver Wings,” a favorite of their late friend and hero Kris Kristofferson, who sadly passed away on September 28th at his home in Maui, Hawaii.
You can watch that part (and I highly recommend doing so), as well as the entire concert, here:
