Luke Bryan Brings Two Brothers Onstage After Their Dad Died, Mom Says ‘Thank You for Giving Me My Boy Back’
Luke Bryan was performing at the Xfinity Theatre in Hartford, Ct., on Saturday (July 30), a stop on his Raised Up Right Tour, when a neon yellow shirt in the crowd caught his attention.
In the pit, he spotted two boys holding up a shirt that read, "Our Dad Died. Can We Sing 'Drink a Beer’ Together?"
“Drink a Beer” is Bryan's song in remembrance of his brother and sister who died, and it's always emotional when he sings it in concert — so, it was fitting for this situation, too.
The boys' mother, Stacy Sicari, shared with Taste of Country the story of her husband’s death and how this Luke Bryan concert was necessary healing for her whole family.
May 12th, 2022 was the day her family changed forever.
"He was fine," she says, recalling her late husband on that day. "[He] took a shower, talked to the kids, and was locked out of the house."
When Sicari came home from work to see if her husband was there, she couldn't find him.
"He usually takes a nap. I checked the bed and he wasn’t there."
Confused, after conversing with her daughter she learned that he had been home, but she still couldn’t find him. So, together, they called his cell phone. A ring from her husband's phone would be heard upstairs, and the moments after became anyone's worst nightmare.
"We all ran upstairs and found him on my bedroom floor," Sicari says. Robert Lafranchise Jr. had suffered a heart attack.
Bryan is one of Stacy's son Robert's favorite country artists, and "Drink a Beer" was the first song he ever heard of Luke's. When Stacy had thrown out the idea of taking her son to the concert, it turned into a family affair with all four of her children.
She knew this was a special moment and wanted to go all out. With pit seats secured and custom T-shirts in hand, they went to the show as a family, hoping Bryan would see the shirts, but they had no expectations.
"These boys have been holding this shirt up all night since I walked out on stage tonight," Bryan said from the stage, as he held up their shirt. But he didn't stop there — he granted the boys' request, asking them to come onstage and sing "Drink a Beer" with him.
Sicari laughs now, revealing that she started shaking when Bryan brought her boys, Robert Lafranchise III, and Nash onstage. Nash notes that getting to be up there with his brother was something special.
"A smile on his face makes me smile," Nash expresses.
There was a moment during the song where Bryan could tell Robert had tears flowing down his face. Without hesitation, the singer swept the tear from the boy's face with his hand. It was a tender moment, that for Stacy, meant more than words would be able to explain.
"It was like we knew what he [Bryan] was feeling," she says. "I know I’ve had people die in my family, but it’s different emotionally when it’s your husband and dad. I was numb for months."
For the Stacy and her family, this moment was more than a viral video, it was healing.
"Thank you for giving me my boy back," Scari says, thanking Bryan. "Just to see a smile on their face was like more than a million words can ever say."
Multiple fans captured the moment and posted it to social media, and it has since gone viral, with many noting how it made them personally emotional. With millions of people watching this moment of her sons with Luke Bryan, Mom Staci hopes to share a message to those who might be walking through a loss, as well:
"We know your pain," she says. "Keep your head up. Be Strong."
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