Luke Bryan returned to the national stage at the American Country Countdown Awards on Monday, his first big appearance since the death of his brother in law, Ben Lee Cheshire.

Bryan was forced to cancel his appearance at the CMT Artists of the Year show earlier this month to grieve with his family and attend Cheshire’s funeral. Chesire was married to Bryan’s sister Kelly, who herself died suddenly in 2007.

Luke Bryan Performs At ACCA

Bryan returned to the spotlight Monday evening, performing his single “Roller Coaster” and taking home the award for Male Vocalist of the Year. During his acceptance speech, Bryan thanked his fans and his country music peers for their support, saying, “I wanna thank all of my fans for the last couple weeks in my life, for keeping my family in your prayers. And I wanna also recognize the country music community, all the artists. Fans, let me explain something to you: You guys support wonderful artists, because they have rallied around me and helped me and my family through the last couple of weeks.”

Despite his family’s loss, Bryan thanked his fans “for an amazing 2014.”

Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.