Cole Swindell Honors His Late Mother With ‘You Should Be Here': ‘That Looks Like Heaven’ [Watch]
Cole Swindell didn't take the weekend off, as his touring partner Thomas Rhett suggested he should after losing his mother last week. Instead, he paid tribute to Betty Carol Rainey during his set in Boston on Saturday night (Sept. 18).
During his ballad "You Should Be Here," Swindell stopped to reflect on writing that song to honor his late father, who died in September 2013. His mom died last, Monday, Sept. 13, he tells the crowd in the video below, adding a few words about how she would have wanted him to be right where he was — right there playing for fans just three days after the funeral.
"There's no way I'm missing being up here in front of a crowd like this. These people have had my back since Day 1," Swindell says. "She would want me on stage in front of a crowd like this. People who care. People who matter."
Fans at the Xfinity Center caught a moment that included a massive cell phone flashlight tribute as they sang the chorus of the song for him:
"That looks like heaven," Swindell says.
He's going to be opening shows for Rhett's Center Point Road Tour through the fall. Swindell's new song "Some Habits" was just released last week. His last studio album was All of It, from 2018.
Additional details about his mother's death have not been revealed. He shared he news soon after it happened, telling followers on Instagram that he was flying home to be with family and be a part of the services.
"Lost my sweet mom today," Swindell wrote in an Instagram Story picture of the clouds, taken during his flight home to Georgia. "Gonna miss her so much. Love y'all."