Granger Smith Honored His Late 3-Year-Old Son With a Symbolic Tattoo

Megan Stein
Photo credit: Getty
Photo credit: Getty

From Country Living

  • Granger Smith's 3-year-old son, River, died after a drowning accident at home in June.

  • The country singer returned to the stage during the LakeShake festival.

  • He performed several hit songs, and debuted the tattoo he got in River's honor.

Granger Smith returned to the stage 18 days after his 3-year-old son River’s tragic death.

Granger and his wife, Amber, announced River passed away after a drowning accident at their home in June. The couple, who also share kids London, 7, and Lincoln, 5, recently posted a video with more details from the devastating day. Granger and Amber promised their family remained “stronger than ever” and that they would continue to “live our best life” in the wake of the life-changing events.

Photo credit: Getty
Photo credit: Getty

The country star is staying true to his word, as he performed for the first time since River’s passing at Chicago’s LakeShake festival. According to a report from People, Granger gave a high-energy show, belting out hits like “Backroad Song” and covers such as “Free Fallin.” He also debuted a new tattoo: The name "River" written on his forearm. (You can see it in the top photo.)

The most emotional moment from the night was when he sang “Heaven Bound Balloons,” a powerful hit about sending messages to loved ones lost. Granger stayed strong throughout, however one onlooker wrote, “There was not a dry eye in the crowd.”

Granger’s wife and kids also joined him on the road, and Amber shared a photo from their time visiting Chicago’s Field Museum. She accompanied it with a heartbreaking caption.

View this post on Instagram

We just happened to be in the same city as the “biiiigggggggest T-Rex” ever found. We had to make a trip to see it in honor of River. This dinosaur was discovered in FAITH, South Dakota by a woman named Sue. And he died by a River ♥️. Open your eyes and you will see signs all around you. We think just maybe, Riv is having the best time of his life in Heaven with this 🦖. Getting back on the road and back into daily life without River has not been easy in the slightest. Every single thing reminds me of him, and all I can think about is how he would love exploring and seeing all that we are seeing. I see his name everywhere, I see little red-headed toddlers everywhere. I miss his silly personality and his bright light. I see his face in our other kiddos. I have this pit in my stomach constantly, because I’m trying to make life as normal as possible for our other 2 incredible kiddos, London and Lincoln, while hurting so bad inside. I look around at everyone else and wonder if anyone is going through something like we are. Dumb little things don’t matter anymore. My family does. My faith does. We’ve got this, because God’s got us ✝️. Thank you all for your continued support, prayers and love. It really does help us so much. #livelikeriv

A post shared by Amber Smith (@amberemilysmith) on Jun 23, 2019 at 2:53pm PDT

“Every single thing reminds me of him, and all I can think about is how he would love exploring and seeing all that we are seeing. I see his name everywhere, I see little red-headed toddlers everywhere. I miss his silly personality and his bright light. I see his face in our other kiddos. I have this pit in my stomach constantly, because I’m trying to make life as normal as possible for our other 2 incredible kiddos, London and Lincoln, while hurting so bad inside,” she said. “I look around at everyone else and wonder if anyone is going through something like we are. Dumb little things don’t matter anymore. My family does. My faith does. We’ve got this, because God’s got us.”

('You Might Also Like',)