Josh Turner Makes Young Autistic Musician’s Dream Come True on Grand Ole Opry Stage

This week, Josh Turner asked a 21-year-old autistic boy to join him on stage during a performance of his signature song 'Long Black Train' at the Grand Ole Opry. The singer describes Logan Blade as someone unable to hold a conversation, but when he starts to sing, it's a different story.

The video below begins with Turner describing how important the song is to him. Blade steps onto the stage midway through the 2003 hit from the album of the same name. He belts out the second verse on his own before Turner joins back in to help bring it home. The audience gives both men a standing ovation after the inspiring performance.

Before the performance, Turner talked to Fox 17 News in Nashville, saying he's touched to have a fan in Blade. "Music is what really changed him and his family," he says. "It's just really gratifying and fulfilling for me to be able to see a young man like that, that is struggling in some ways -- but yet, due in part, a little bit, by what I've done musically, he's been able to become a different person."

Turner is Blade's favorite artist. Before the show, the singer met with the entire family and the young singer's music teacher, signing autographs and making conversation for 10 to 15 minutes. While the Opry was Blade's dream, he's has previously performed at venues like the Bluebird Cafe and during a NATO meeting in Norfolk, Va. in front of dozens of world leaders. The Columbia Daily Herald reports that he travels around Middle Tennessee spreading awareness about autism.