ERNEST took to the stage on Wednesday (Aug. 16) night at a sold-out show at Fenway Park in Boston. And, aside from powering through a set of songs, fans got a little bit of an extra surprise during his slot as an opener for Morgan Wallen’s One Night at a Time World Tour.
The 31-year-old singer/songwriter showed off his soft and tender side, bringing his son Ryman Saint Smith out to the stage to join him on a rendition of the baby-favorite lullaby, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.”
Watch The Adorable Father/Son Moment Below
In an Instagram video shared to ERNEST’s page, fans, who weren’t able to attend the show, get to see the adorable moment in action as two-year-old Ryman runs out to meet his dad center stage. The little tyke appears enthused while sporting a pair of noise-canceling headphones to drown out the loud and thunderous applause from the crowd of thousands, who await to see what happens next.
“Ryman and me have worked up a song we are going to play for y’all. It’s called ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,’” ERNEST told the crowd. “And if y’all want to make him feel welcome on his first big stage…we are going to try this out.”
Once Ryman is in his father’s arms, he leads the audience into singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” Ryman shows no signs of nervousness as he steals the show, proving that he could very well step into his daddy’s footsteps when he grows older.
In fact, he seems to be on track to do just that as he and ERNEST appear dressed in matching cowboy boots for their “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” debut.
ERNEST’s Mini Me
This isn’t the first time that Ryman has shown signs of interest in his famous father’s music. In fact, in October of 2022, the sweet toddler dressed up as his country singer father for Halloween.
“Happy Halloween! Guess who Ryman is…. (📷: @delaneyroyer ),” a caption reads alongside a carousel of photos that feature Ryman sporting his dad’s look with a microphone in his pant pocket.
ERNEST’s recent show with his child in tow kicked off show one of a three-night run at Fenway Park. For Thursday’s performance, (Aug. 17), HARDY is featured as a special guest, with ERNEST and Bailey Zimmerman serving as support while Friday’s concert (Aug. 18) will include Parker McCollum with ERNEST and Zimmerman.
Ryman Is On Tour With ERNEST
ERNEST hasn’t revealed whether or not Ryman will be on hand to serve up “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” for the rest of the Fenway shows, but he did recently open up about getting to see his son, who he shares with his wife Delaney Royer, three days out of the week while on tour.
“I think the way we tour and are able to be home when we can, two or three days a week, definitely helps. Ryman is so taken care of. Delaney is such a great mom,” ERNEST gushed of his family during an interview with ET Online, where he also said. “I always look forward to getting back home and making up for some lost time with them.”
The sweet words come after ERNEST paid tribute to his wife with “Takes After You” — a sentimental country ballad he wrote with Jordan Schmidt and Josh Thompson that shares his wishes that his child will inherit the same good-hearted attributes as his mother.
“These Moments Are Few And Far Between”
Aside from enjoying family time, ERNEST is also grateful to experience some of the best moments with his tour mates/buddies HARDY and Wallen. He shares that he realizes those moments won’t last forever.
“The chances of us being at a place like this on this scale, it’s not lost on me that these moments are few and far between,” he said. “It’s cool. The three amigos, three stooges, whatever you want to call us.”
ERNEST will provide support on Wallen’s One Night at a Time World Tour through October before setting out on his 15-date headlining This Fire Tour.
The trek kicks off on Oct. 18 and features support from Cody Lohden as well as Jake Worthington and John Morgan on select dates. The This Fire Tour is set to conclude on Nov. 28 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.
