A recent Keith Urban concert turned into an unforgettable evening for one 6-year-old fan!
6-year-old Kellen Hammock of Monticello, IL, enjoyed a tender-hearted moment with the country music superstar during a show at the Peoria Civic Center in Peoria on Friday, (Nov. 4), night as part of Urban’s Speed Of Now Tour.
The young superfan, who was attending the show, thanks to his parents Whitney Donaldson and Chase Hammock, who surprised him with tickets after purchasing them last Christmas, what thrilled to get to see his hero live. But little did he know he would wind up getting more than what he bargained for.
Hammock, who watched Urban’s show from what appeared to be the front row, held up a neon yellow sign reading the words, “I wasn’t supposed to walk. I wasn’t supposed to talk. Now, I’m jammin’ to Keith Urban.”
That poster caught Urban’s attention, enough to take a break from his set list to find out more about his young fan.
Urban paused to chat with the little boy and his mom and dad. He also shared a hug and a fist bump with the child, as shown in the Instagrammed photo below.
According to Hammock’s mother, the sweet young fan was diagnosed with a medical condition called “Hydrocephalus” which resulted “due to an encephalocele, a hole in his skull.” The MayoClinic describes Hydrocephalus as “the buildup of fluid in the cavities (ventricles) deep within the brain. The excess fluid increases the size of the ventricles and puts pressure on the brain.”
“At eight days old, he underwent two brain surgeries. In the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU),” Donaldson told Music Mayhem of the couple’s son. “The doctors told us he wouldn’t walk, talk or lift his head.”
Despite his condition, which kept him from walking until he was three years old, Donaldson said Hammock has been “a music lover his entire life.”
“He reenacts every one of Keith’s live performances while watching them at home,” she shared. “He was introduced to Keith Urban two years ago, and ever since, he has been completely enamored.”
Hammock is such a fan of Urban that he now owns 13 guitars and 2 banjos.
“I also can add that because of our son’s diagnosis, it affected his vision causing him to end up with a cornea transplant, which required him to wear protective goggles 24 hours a day 7 days a week. He did not want to wear them at all at first. We had to show him a picture of Keith Urban wearing glasses for him to wear the goggles and since he saw that picture he wears them with no issue.” Donaldson shared. “From the moment he wakes up until he goes to bed, he listens to Keith.”
At Urban’s show, Hammock was able to get one of his “blinged-out” guitars signed – a moment that Donaldson captured and shared to her TikTok page.
@whitd13 @keithurban thank you for making our son’s dreams come true #fyp #countrymusic #hydrocephalusawareness #peoriaciviccenter
“@keithurban thank you for making our son’s dreams come true #fyp #countrymusic #hydrocephalusawareness #peoriaciviccenter,” she wrote alongside the video.
“Memories that will last a lifetime 🥰🎸 #KellenDean#KeithUrban #IngridAndress #TylerHubbard#speedofnowworldtour @chammock53,” Donaldson also captioned a post on Instagram, alongside video footage from the concert.
“This fulfilled a dream for our son! He has revealed to everyone today that he met and spoke with the ‘REAL LIFE Keith Urban,’” Donaldson shared. “The fact that Keith Urban was so humble to notice him, ask about his story, and make Kellen’s dream come true of meeting Keith Urban was the best feeling as parents we could ask for.”
Urban wrapped up his final show for the US leg of his The Speed of Now Tour on Saturday, Nov. 5, at the Xcel Energy Arena in St. Paul, Minn. The trek will pick up again in Australia in December.
