After months of uncertainty, 18-year-old country singer Mason Ramsey’s “Falls Into Place Tour” was back on track at Gainesville’s Heartwood Soundstage.
Rescheduled after hurricanes Helene and Milton, Ramsey left Florida crowds eagerly waiting for their turn to see the internet sensation perform his debut album. On Thursday, Ramsey was finally ready to hit the stage again for a sold-out audience.
At 8:45 p.m., the doors on the right side of the stage flew open, and Ramsey strode in, dressed in an all-black, cowboy-esque outfit that mirrored his southern flair. The crowd of about 100 — appropriately dressed in cowboy hats, boots, flare jeans and everything in between — erupted in cheers as Ramsey and his band opened the show with “Next Right Thing.”
For those who may not have been able to see his entrance, the deafening sound of excitement made one thing clear: Ramsey was here, and he was ready to make up for lost time.
Country artist Halle Kearns opened the show at 8 p.m., charming the audience with an acoustic set performed by her and her long-time “bestie,” Jonah Krull. Kearns taught the audience the chorus of her song, “Love You Back,” encouraging them to sing along with her before Ramsey began his set.
After taking the stage, Ramsey wasted no time and jumped right into his performance with high energy, busting out hip-swaying dance moves Elvis himself would be proud of.
“Just seeing his little personality when he was dancing around — that was so cute,” said Elena Frenock, a 19-year-old UF economics freshman and day-one fan of Ramsey. “I felt like he was having fun.”
The original run of the “Falls Into Place” tour ended in December, and after a month of not performing, Ramsey would sometimes pause to remind the audience he’s out of practice.
“Well, that was interesting,” Ramsey said with a smile after an intense, hair-flipping filled dance break during “She Got It Outta Me.” “I guess I haven’t done that in a while either.”
Even though there were times where Ramsey struggled to articulate exactly what he wanted to say, he still made his confidence clear.
“I’m not so good with words,” he told the crowd between songs, before adding, “Only with girls.”
One fan shouted in response, “Mason, don’t steal my girl!”
“I’ll steal them all,” Ramsey replied with a smile. “And I don’t plan on returning any of them, either.”
Ramsey’s confidence on stage comes as no surprise. At just 11 years old, he became an overnight success story after a video of him singing “Lovesick Blues” by Hank Williams in the aisles of a Walmart went viral. The video was seen by 89 million people on Youtube alone, earning him the nickname of “yodeling boy.” Seven years later, Ramsey still captivates the internet’s attention through his music career.
Despite the overwhelming success and fame that came from his viral video, which even earned him a spot on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” Ramsey had one confession to make: he’s never seen the entire video. Although he’s seen short snippets of it when it occasionally circulates online, he said he's come to view that time of his life as a different era altogether.
“I look at 2018 to 2022 as the Walmart era [and] TikTok era,” he said in an interview with The Alligator. “Then I look at 2023, trying to be more serious in 2024 and now going into 2025, just trying to be more serious and put out music that I like.”
Even with these self-proclaimed separate identities, Ramsey still has a good sense of humor when it comes to his yodeling history. In between songs, a few passionate fans shouted their pleas for him to sing “Lovesick Blues.”
“You should’ve came about four or five years ago,” Ramsey said as the audience laughed.
Zoe Orgass was one of the many audience members who became fans of Ramsey from his Walmart video.The 23-year-old drove over five hours from Marco Island, Florida, after her class at Florida Gulf Coast University to make it in time to see her most-listened-to Spotify artist take the stage.
“The video blew up, and then when I realized he was making music of his own, I was like, ‘This is crazy,’” Orgass said. “I had to listen to it, and the thing is, it was so good. It’s good now and it was good then too.”
Ramsey released his debut album, “I’ll See You In My Dreams,” Sept. 20. With an ambitious 14 songs, all of which he co-wrote, he gives audiences a glimpse into his personal life through his vulnerable lyrics. Almost every track is based on Ramsey’s personal experiences, he said, which he ultimately hopes will let fans get to know a little bit more about him.
“There’s something so personal about him and his music that you can really see,” Orgass said. “It’s genuine. It doesn’t feel cookie cutter. It doesn’t feel fake. I feel like he’s just got a very genuine attitude as a performer, and it transfers over to his music.”
It’s not just the authentic storytelling through his songs that captivates audiences and sets him apart from his 11-year-old self. With more experience under his buckled belt, he’s gotten more comfortable experimenting with different styles of music, differentiating him from the typical chart-topping country artists.
Ramsey showcased his musical variety while at the Heartwood Soundstage through “The Woman From Havana,” a song that began with a traditional Spanish guitar solo.
“The thing is, you can’t really describe me,” Ramsey said about his musical genre. “I can’t describe myself.”
It’s this versatility that draws in some of Ramsey’s listeners, including Zoe Orgass’ sister, Emily. Traditionally straying away from country, the 27-year-old said she’s come to enjoy Ramsey’s music through her sister’s avid listening.
“Anytime [Zoe] puts it on in the car, I can listen to it and enjoy it without having to be a country fan,” she said.
Even though Ramsey’s voice has deepened significantly since his early yodeling days, he’s still that same boy from Golconda, Illinois, — give or take a few fan pages. It’s important to him that he always stays true to this version of himself, Ramsey said.
“My end goal is to always be, one, Mason Ramsey,” he said.
From recently singing on stage with Lana Del Ray to performing at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards with Billy Ray Cyrus, Ramsey has already seen great success at only 18 years old. And he doesn’t plan on slowing down any time soon. With a new song on the horizon, Ramsey is proving he isn’t just the yodeling boy from Walmart anymore; he’s a young artist on a mission.
Contact Tanya Fedak at tfedak@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @ttanyafedak.
