Walmart yodeling kid Mason Ramsey is coming to Pittsburgh

Six years ago, a two-minute video of Mason Ramsey was posted to YouTube that changed the trajectory of his life.

He was just 11 years old, seen on camera singing “Lovesick Blues” by Hank Williams at a Walmart in his native Illinois. In just days, the clip went viral, garnering over 25 million views and cementing Ramsey into internet meme status. Williams’ song even briefly went back into the top of music charts.

Shortly thereafter, Ramsey appeared on Ellen, was brought out onto the Coachella stage, and signed a deal with Atlantic Records and the Nashville-based label Big Loud.

Now 17, Ramsey is setting out on a solo tour, the “Falls Into Place Tour Pt. 2.” He’ll be making a stop in Pittsburgh on Thu., Oct. 10 at the Thunderbird Café and Music Hall.

“It’s pretty cool because I haven’t done a full tour in about four or five years,” Ramsey tells Pittsburgh City Paper. “I’m also going to be on the road with one of my best friends, [singer] Halle Kearns, and she’s going to be opening for me, so that’ll be really cool.”

Ramsey is also looking forward to seeing some new cities and places he hasn’t visited yet.

As far as what to expect in the show, Ramsey didn’t spill any secrets. “I’m not going to spoil anything, because that’s the whole point of getting people to go to my shows and stuff,” he says. “You have to experience it for yourself.”

Ramsey also discussed navigating the transition from what he called “yodel boy to Mason Ramsey.”

“I would like people to know me by my name and understand that the music I’m doing is different, but it’s still classic,” Ramsey says. “This is a new chapter of my life, and I just want to be taken seriously for my music.”

Ramsey’s new album, I’ll See You in My Dreams, was released on Sept. 20. It has a retro feel, is country in the purest sense of the word and sounds like it could have been released in the 1950s or ‘60s.

“I was talking to a guy, and he said, ‘those guys that made music back in the ‘60s and ‘70s, they just did it right the first time,” Ramsey says. “Now we go back and can’t do it, or if we do it it doesn’t feel real, and I’m just trying to do it as real as possible and bring it back — it’s kind of what this generation is missing today.”

Despite the last few years being busy, Ramsey did have time to get his driver’s license — and promptly lost it. On the first day of the tour, his wallet disappeared.

“I didn’t even have it for a month, I had just gotten the license in the mail,” he says.

In case anyone reads this in Oxford, Mississippi, Ramsey does remember taking his wallet out in the green room at The Lyric Oxford Theater.

Ramsey will be visiting Pittsburgh for the first time and was eager to read about fun places to visit. He was disappointed to learn that the Steelers were not playing Thursday Night Football the evening he’s in town.

Ramsey can be found on Instagram @masonramsey and on TikTok @masonramsey.

This article appears in Oct 2-8, 2024.