Tuesday was a big day for Rhett Akins.

He celebrated his 57th birthday by being inducted into the Grand Ole Opry by fellow Opry members Jamey Johnson and Jon Pardi. Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan also took part in the special evening, but one of the most emotional moments came when his son, Thomas Rhett, took the stage to honour him.

“This is arguably the coolest thing that I have done in my career and the coolest thing I will get to do is get to help honour my dad to get inducted in the Grand Ole Opry,” Thomas shared.

Thomas Rhett talked about writing some of his first songs with his dad and the special bond they have built through music.

“I remember being seven years old asking dad if he’d write a song with me. And we’ve been writing songs ever since…And I think for a father and son to be able to write songs together is one thing, but then to have those songs make it onto a radio wave and have those songs go number one and have a lot of people know the words to them, it can only be God at that point. It can only be God,” he shared.

Before performing “Half of Me,” one of the many songs he and his father have written together over the years, Thomas had a special message for his dad.

“Dad, I’m so proud of you. I love you to death. I hope you’re soaking every single bit of this in because this doesn’t happen to everybody, man. You’re in the 0.00001% of people that get through this.”