Cole Swindell gave a touching tribute to the US military, service men and women who are overseas, and all the first responders. As he closed his set out at the 2018 iHeartCountry Festival with a performance of "Ain't Worth The Whiskey," Cole made a heartfelt speech dedicated to those who serve our country.
In the middle of "Ain't Worth The Whiskey," Cole explained:
"I wanna thank all the men and women who are serving our country, allowing us to live in this free country. I bet we've got some in the house, I bet we got family members in the house, so God bless y'all. Also, this song talks about overseas, but as you all know, especially right here in Austin, and as we all do all over the country, that the evil is not just overseas anymore, it's right here in our own country. So, every single police officer, every firefighter, EMTs, all first responders everywhere, y'all. Those are the folks, they risk their lives for strangers like me and you every single day. I don't know if y'all have thought about it like that, but that's pretty serious right there."
Cole kicked off his iHeartCountry Festival set emerging from the back of the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, and walking through a crowd of fans to the stage. Swindell performed several of his hits, including "Ain't Worth The Whiskey" and "You Should Be Here."
Watch Cold Swindell's touching speech above.
Country fans will be able to relive the best moments from the show during a special TV broadcast on Sunday, August 5th at 8pm ET/PT on FOX. The two-hour show will showcase never-before-seen collaborations, behind-the-scenes interviews with the artists, as well as guest appearances by Gavin DeGraw, Jana Kramer, Sam Palladio, Josh Henderson, Danielle Bradbery, Ryan Hurd and cast members from FOX’s hit drama, THE GIFTED.
Photos: Rodger Ho for iHeartRadio & Getty Images