Watch Heart’s Nancy Wilson Dedicate ‘These Dreams’ to Deceased Fan
At Camden, New Jersey’s BB&T Pavilion, Nancy Wilson was brought to tears dedicating Heart‘s “These Dreams” to a 24-year-old fan who tragically died this year. “Before the show, this woman [told] me about a family member that didn’t make it,” Wilson said onstage, wiping tears from her eyes. “We are going to dedicate this song to Sammy.”
Earlier that evening, Francie Trout of Springfield, Pennsylvania, spoke to the Wilson sisters about her nephew, Sammy Mathues, who died of severe burns. “I told [Heart] that he wasn’t there because he was burned beyond recognition on Feb. 22nd … He had asked me the day before he died about going to the [Heart] show. He wanted to see his [aunt’s] favorite band,” Trout tells Rolling Stone.
Trout said she was moved and surprised by the dedication to Sammy four songs into the concert’s set. “I was crying,” said Trout. “Ann and Nancy kept looking over at me, as we were in the first row. They both choked up. Ann even missed a background vocal because she was all filled up with tears. I never asked them to do anything,” she said.
“I was so impressed by her brave emotional story,” Nancy Wilson tells Rolling Stone. “Music can be such a huge help and a force of healing to so many in so many ways.”
Heart are currently on an expansive summer Rock Hall Three for All tour with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and Cheap Trick. The tour wraps up September 23rd at the Perfect Vodka Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Florida.