RaeLynn marked an emotional, full circle moment in an Instagram post on Tuesday (August 5).

The Texas-born country star remembered one day in 2011 walking along the iconic stretch of historic honky tonks on Lower Broadway in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, dreaming of a life in Music City when she was a teen. RaeLynn said on that day, she sang karaoke in front of Bridgestone Arena, where Taylor Swift would take the stage that night on her sold-out “Speak Now Tour” stop. RaeLynn said it was a moment that “started a fire in me.” She competed on The Voice the following year on Team Blake Shelton, and ultimately, moved to Nashville to launch her career as an artist.

Now 31, the singer-songwriter is performing on the Bridgestone Arena stage on Thursday evening (August 7) as part of Jason Aldean’s 2025 headlining “Full Throttle Tour.” Aldean kicked off the tour earlier this year with RaeLynn, Nate Smith and Dee Jay Silver. RaeLynn shared throwback photos with a heartfelt reflection:

“GREAT THINGS TAKE TIME. Now I’m getting emotional. On September 17th 2011 I walked down broadway dreaming of what life would look like here in Nashville. Taylor Swift was playing that night (tickets were sold out) on the speak now tour and I remember my cousin daring me to sing karaoke in the front while everybody was walking in and of course I said YES. That moment started a fire in me to figure out what my future would look like as a country artist and right when I got home to Texas from this trip I began writing more than I ever had and sending emails to random people in the industry sorry if you got an email from Racheal Lynn 😂 I prayed EVERYDAY (and still do today) that God would miraculously Open the right doors for my music. I ended up going back to Nashville about a month later to meet with ASCAP and they helped me with a write that led to an audition for the voice and then a YEAR LATER I was moving here as a signed ARTIST. THAT TRULY IS ONLY SOMETHING GOD COULD DO. Now here we are 14 YEARS LATER and I get to play [Bridgestone Arena] with [Jason Aldean] ❤️ so don’t give up on what your heart is telling you. I am so grateful for the journey that led to this moment. SEE YOU THURSDAY NASHVILLE 😢💋”

See RaeLynn’s post here, and see the remaining “Full Throttle Tour” dates below.