Kane Brown gave a short, emotional, tear-filled speech at the CMT Artists of the Year event on Wednesday (Oct. 16), in which he dedicated his award to his drummer, Kenny Dixon, who died in a car accident Oct. 12.

Brown accepted the award from Chris Young, then took the stage visibly shook with emotion. "Thank you all so much. I want to dedicate this to our drummer Kenny," he said, with his voice already seizing up with tears. "He started with me coming out of Chattanooga off facebook, people didn’t think we would make it, he was with me the whole time. He was so supportive of me. And I love you man, I miss you. The band misses you."

WATCH: Kane Brown Responds to His Drummer's Death

Brown noted a similar sentiment of his longtime bond with his bandmate the day after Dixon died, posting on social media, "You started all of this with me from the start in 2015 when no body else believed we would make it out of Chattanooga playing for 500 people. And your last show was in a Fn Stadium."

Dixon was just 27 years old when he lost his life in the car crash. Neither drugs nor alcohol are thought to be a factor in the crash, according to authorities. His funeral will be held Oct. 20. Brown has rescheduled his upcoming Los Angeles date on Oct. 18.

Brown was one of five honorees at the 2019 CMT Artists of the Year event, joining Carrie Underwood, Dan + Shay, Thomas Rhett and Luke Combs.

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