Watch Carly Pearce’s Touching Tribute to Busbee: ‘This Is the Hardest Show I’ve Ever Played’

Carly Pearce is mourning the loss of Busbee, her producer, songwriter and friend. Busbee, whose real name was Michael James Ryan, passed away on Sunday, Sept. 29, after a brief battle with brain cancer. Busbee produced Pearce’s first album, Every Little Thing, as well as co-wrote several songs on the record, including the title track. Pearce learned of Busbee’s death shortly before she took the stage, on Jason Aldean‘s Ride All Night Tour, and shared a touching tribute to her late friend.

“I’m about to be extremely vulnerable with you,” Pearce shared. “I spend the majority of my time on stage, and this is single-handedly the hardest show I’ve ever played in my entire life. About an hour before my show, I found out that the guy who is responsible for getting me my record deal, and wrote the majority of my songs with me, and produced my record – he’s been fighting brain cancer, and I feel like I have to be honest with you that I just found out that he passed away.

“And so, I’m sorry,” she continued through tears. “But right now, he wrote this next song with me that changed my life. We all go through things that are hard, and I didn’t want to not come out here, because this is what I love to do more than anything in the whole world. And this next song that I’m gonna sing, I want to sing it for him, because he produced the crap out of it, and he wrote it with me, and it changed my life. I’m now standing here, and he got to know that I’m a CMA Best New Artist nominee this year.”

As the band started playing “Every Little Thing,” Pearce concluded by saying, “And please, put your cell phone lighters up so Busbee can see them in Heaven.”

The Kentucky native also shared a touching story about Busbee, which happened right before she learned of his passing.

“Yesterday morning, my mom called me to tell me of the dream she had Saturday night,” Pearce posted on Instagram. “She said ‘Carly, I had a dream busbee and I were in a room and he was playing piano for me – I told him it was beautiful.’ I learned hours later of his passing. This video is from last night’s show. I like to think he was playing along from that same piano. We love you, Buz.”

Funeral services have yet to be announced.

Photo Credit: Getty / John Shearer