Zach Bryan fan was unresponsive after accident until he heard this song

Kyle Gustafson / For The Washington Post via Getty Images

Music can be the perfect soundtrack for many important moments, from weddings and proposals to school days off in the summer. But the empowering power of music goes deeper, too. A South Carolina teenager who was thrown from his car in a serious car crash was revived after listening to a Zach Bryan song, according to a loved one who shared the story on Facebook.

After the accident, 17-year-old Trae Ocheltree was hospitalized and unresponsive for two days until one of his friends – who knew Ocheltree was a huge fan of Zach Bryan – played Bryan’s song “Revival,” which was featured on the artist’s 2020 album. ElizabethWhen Ocheltree heard the song, he squeezed his friend’s hand and tried to mime the lyrics of the song with his lips.

By June 4, Ocheltree had recovered enough to try playing the guitar, which had been given to him by the Christopher Conner Foundation in South Carolina. While still in his hospital bed, Ocheltree began playing Bryan’s new song “Pink Skies.”

Ocheltree’s mother wrote in a Facebook post on June 4: “Tonight his AMAZING friend, who is INCREDIBLY good with him, helped him learn to play some guitar again. Last night and this morning he played a little on his own and the progress is amazing. Tonight he sang for the first time… Even when he couldn’t speak yet he was mumbling the words to this song…”

Ocheltree was recently transferred to a location in Atlanta to continue his rehabilitation and recovery from the accident.

Billboard has asked Bryan’s team for comment.