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On Friday, December 15th, Sony Nashville’s Kane Brown celebrated a night of many firsts at Landers Center in Southaven, Mississippi.

Brown headlined his first arena show in Southaven performing to a sold out audience in a large arena.

The enthusiastic crowd even packed the floor, standing room only, just for the opportunity to be near him, have a possible chance to touch his hand, and seemingly knew every word to every song as they lit their phones up singing along with him most of the night.

I have to admit that this was my very first time seeing him perform live and I was not familiar with his music aside from the current hit that is a duet with Lauren Alaina on the radio now.

What little I do know of Kane Brown is he has this big smile that makes you want to smile along with him.  There was also a period prior to signing with Sony that he was homeless and he had a tough upbringing.  Yet, through it all, he smiles and he smiles big.  He also has a true love for country music, which you can really see from all the cover songs of his favorites in country on YouTube that he posted prior to being singed and where he first began to build his huge following that grows daily.  He sings with his heart and did I mention how humble he is?

When I was standing near him for our group photo on Friday night before his show, what I felt from him was a humbleness that you don’t find every day.  I saw a person who is truly grateful for where he is today.  He probably has a hard time even taking it all in.  It probably overwhelmes him at times, I suspect.  It is not a put on.  I could see it and feel it in all his words and actions that whole night.  He loves being where he is now with Sony and is enjoying this ride,  playing to a capacity crowd for his biggest show to date with everyone from his team there cheering him on? It was a very special night for him.  I could tell.  He did not even have to say it, although he did.  It was written all over his face and flowed out during his performance as he gave it his all.  He put his whole heart into the night.  His dreams have become a reality, and you can’t help but smile and cheer him along on his path.

I hope his ride in music continues for many years to come.  If the response from this crowd was any indication, we will be hearing from Kane Brown for many more years to come and these were just the first of many more records he is about to break through in his career.

The music business is not an easy path for anyone who is on any side of it.  Just ask anyone.  There have been many hopeful dreams dashed.  It can be filled with many ups, downs, and disappointments.  You can have all the talent in the world, the best team behind you, and still you don’t quite find your audience.  Brown has found his audience and connected with them on a level that many have not been able to do.  I suspect it’s because behind those big vocals of his and his songs, they connect with him on a deeper emotional level because of his background and his big heart that is on dislpay for all to see.  When you are honest, humble, and put your heart into what you do, people take notice.

His team, including Sony promotions staff, management, booking agent, producer, publishers, publicists, and more came along to celebrate with him and to do a special presentation that they surprised him with in the middle of his set.  They couldn’t have been happier to present him with a gold plaque for his debut album and a #1 plaque for his single at his first arena show that was at full capacity.

His life has not been easy, but I am glad I could be there to witness this special night for him.  He made me a fan on Friday.  Not simply because he is a great performer with a strong voice, but because he has a lot of heart and humility.  If there is one thing I like to see, it’s someone who overcomes difficult, challenging circumstances in their life.  Instead of giving in, giving up, and making excuses, he is succeeding, shining, and living his dream.  He was probably told many times in his life that he could never be a country singer.  Being a successful country singer signed to a major label playing shows in a large arena while performing on award shows reaching #1 on the country radio charts, and gold-certified on your debut album? It’s not possible, right? Well, it CAN be done if you truly set your mind to it and have a team of people behind you that believe in what you are doing as strongly as you do.  It’s not easy and it is rare, but with a lot of hard work, belief, talent, a little luck & good timing, it CAN be done.

Keep shining on and being you, Kane Brown! You have a new fan with me and I’ll be cheering you on all the way.