Abby Anderson Shares ‘Stand by Me’ Duet With Rob Thomas [Watch]
Technical difficulties won't throw Abby Anderson off her game onstage. On Monday night (June 3) during a tour stop in Cincinnati, Ohio, the rising country star turned a power problem into a gorgeous acoustic duet with none other than her tour boss, Rob Thomas.
Anderson was opening Thomas' Chip Tooth Smile Tour stop at Cincinnati's PNC Pavilion, a press email explains, when her band's gear unexpectedly shut off. Rather than stop her set, however, Anderson simply grabbed her acoustic guitar and launched into an improvised cover of Ben E. King's hit "Stand by Me." Thomas had been watching from the side of the stage and jumped out to harmonize.
"He made me and my whole crew feel like a million bucks," Anderson says of Thomas. "So today I am thankful for the joy in my heart, Mr. Rob Thomas having me out on this tour with him, and having the opportunity to learn from a true pro. Not only in performing, but taking every opportunity to lift up the people around you."
According to Anderson's Instagram post about the impromptu moment, Thomas has been watching her sets every night of the tour, but she was still surprised to see him next to her at the mic.
Thomas' Chip Tooth Smile Tour — a solo trek, rather than one with his Matchbox Twenty bandmates — began in late May and will run through early August. Anderson says she sees the non-country trek as both an opportunity and a challenge.
"I don't know if these people listen to country music," she admits. "I'm sure they do because I listen to pop and I'm a country music artist … and I think good music is good music."
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