Luke Combs performs in front of tens of thousands of people on a regular basis, and on Saturday night (July 23) at the Buckeye Country Superfest in Columbus, Ohio, he shared that feeling with his new friend Addison (Addi) Conely, a 17-year-old who is battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
Combs had heard about Addi and decided to have her and her family attend one of his shows. He flew the family from California, where she is being treated at City of Hope. When the family landed in Ohio they were met by a driver and taken to Ohio Stadium where they were treated to an exclusive backstage experience that included meeting the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year before the concert.
“He chatted with Addi and hung on her every word, talked about his beautiful wife, their brand-new baby, his friend who had cancer twice, once in the third grade and then again last year. How they all shaved their heads to stand with him and Addi talked about how all of her brothers, bf and friend’s did too on the same day she lost her hair,” Addi’s Mom, Staci Conley shared.
Combs continued the backstage experience with Addi, giving her a tour of the venue and watching the opening acts with her from the side stage.
During his encore, Combs brought out Addi to sit beside him as he performed her favorite song, “Better Together.” He introduced her to the crowd and asked the crowd of more than 60,000 sing the final chorus.
“This is my friend Addi that I met today and Addi’s going through some health things at the moment and I came across her on social media,” Combs explained. ”I had been tagged in a few things and her biggest wish was to come out and see a show. So, we flew Addi and her family out from California to be with us in Columbus tonight and I want to give her the experience of what it really feels like to be up here in front of 60,000 people tonight.”
Combs added, ”Addi’s favorite song is “Better Together,” so I can only ask you one favor. One, that you sing along so we can hear you and two I want every single person in here to get their phone light out so we can see. I want her to see that tonight. So, Addi this one goes out to you, your favorite song, one of my favorite songs.”
While the crowd was finishing the chorus, Combs walked offstage with his arm around Addi. The moment was definitely a touching one, especially for Addi’s mom. “It was so beautiful, we all watched while the tears streamed down our cheeks,” she said.
Addi also spoke about the experience onstage and her country superstar host.
“It was incredible, I imagined all of those people that were singing to me could be the next person to save someone’s life like mine,” she . ”Luke is the nicest guy I have ever met and I can’t wait to hang out again soon.”
Addi is raising funds via GoFundMe to complete her bucket list of adventures and pay for medical expenses and treatments. To donate click HERE.
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