Philadelphia was shining with star power on Saturday, welcoming three award-winning artists – Chris Stapleton, Grace Bowers, and Brittany Spencer – to Marty Stuart’s Congress of Country Music for a day of benefit concerts. As part of the day’s festivities, a new mural was unveiled downtown honoring fallen first responders.
The lyrics to Stapleton’s “Broken Halos” frame the wall painting paying homage to those that have lost their lives serving the public.
The Grammy Award winning country star was in attendance to see the mural unveiled.
“I was gonna help [Marty Stuart] raise money for the [Congress of Country Music], but I did not expect all of this, I don’t think,” Stapleton said. “I’m very humbled and grateful for the gifts and the appreciation, and I’m grateful to the men and women who we’re honoring here today.”
Part of the lyrics painted on the mural read:
Seen my share of broken halos
Folded wings that used to fly
They’ve all gone where they go
Broken halos that used to shine
Angels come down from the heavens
Just to helps us on our way
Come to teach us then they leave us
And they find some other soul to save
Stapleton played a pair of concerts benefiting improvements to the Congress of Country Music, which is undergoing an expansion that includes a Historic Artifacts Museum.
The mural, painted by artist Daniel Ethridge, honored late first responders Milburn Williamson, Wendell Willis, Harold Comby, Vanessa Smith, Louisa Bell, John Smith, James Sampson, Moses Thompson Sr., Fredesz Moore, Barry Hughes, Elsie L. Kirksey, LeAnn Simpson, John Adam Myers, and Greg Tubby.
