On Thursday afternoon (Feb. 23), Chris Stapleton was among the artists who took the stage at the Ryman Auditorium for Universal Music Group's annual luncheon during the 2017 Country Radio Seminar. The singer-songwriter elected to perform an unreleased song, "Broken Halos," and shared the tear-jerking story behind the tune.

Fans may be familiar with "Broken Halos," as Stapleton performed the song during the Smoky Mountains Rise: A Benefit for the My People Fund telethon in December. On Thursday, the artist called the track "sort of a new song, but ... an old song for me," and explained that the song is "about people who have passed away before their time."

"I recorded this on the day a friend of mine passed away from pancreatic cancer. He was the same age as me; we played Little League together, stuff like that," Stapleton shared. "He was 38 years old."

Readers can press play above to watch a snippet of Stapleton's performance of "Broken Halos."

On Thursday (Feb. 16), Stapleton announced his plans to release his sophomore studio album on May 5. The singer has yet to share other details about the record -- its track listing, title, etc. -- but he also revealed that he'll be hitting the road, also on May 5, for the All-American Road Show, an extensive Summer 2017 tour that will keep him out on the road until the end of August. During his All-American Road Show, Stapleton will team up with the Brothers Osborne, Lucie Silvas, Brent Cobb, Anderson East and Margo Price, with each act appearing at various, but not all, shows; Stapleton will also briefly act as an opening act himself, when he plays three shows with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in July.

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