Miranda Lambert & Lukas Nelson Remember Kris Kristofferson

Like many country artists, Miranda Lambert and Lukas Nelson were devastated to hear that Kris Kristofferson passed away on September 28. The legendary country singer, songwriter, and actor was 88 years old.

As the son of Willie Nelson, one of Kris’ best friends, Lukas knew Kris his whole life. After Kris died, Lukas said that other than his own father, no musician inspired him more than Kris.

“Other than my father, he was my greatest inspiration,” Lukas said on social media alongside a photo of him and Kris when they met for the first time. He continued, “He embodied humility and kindness and carried his grace into his words and music with unique eloquence. He was a great among greats. One of the coolest men in music.“

RELATED: 10 OF KRIS KRISTOFFERSON’S BEST SONGS [RANKED]

Lukas later honored Kris by sharing a video of himself covering his song “Loving Her Was Easier.”

Miranda Lambert was another one of Kris’ friends in the country music industry. The two Texas natives had a mutual respect for each other.

“@kristofferson, thank you for everything,” Miranda shared in a tribute to Kris on social media after his passing. “Forever a hero. Your songs will live forever. I’m so thankful I got to share the stage with you. Rest easy.“

Miranda Lambert & Kris Kristofferson Sang “Silver Wings” Together Years Ago

Miranda got the chance to sing with Kris during the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony in 2010. They joined forces to recognize Kris’ longtime friend, Merle Haggard, who was one of the honorees.

Kris and Miranda sang Merle’s “Silver Wings” during the ceremony. Their performance was stunning and surely touched Merle, who was watching in the audience.

Merle passed away just six years later, on his birthday in 2016.

During her Music for Mutts benefit concert on Saturday (October 5), Miranda opted to sing “Silver Wings” once more. This time, she sang it in honor of Kris…and had Lukas join her onstage as her duet partner.

Before they sang, Miranda said:

“Well, one of our dear, dear friends and heroes just passed, away, Mr. Kris Kristofferson. And I got to sing this next song with him a couple of times and it was one of the biggest highlights of my career…So Lukas and I decided we would do a Merle song, because we know Kris loved Merle, right? We’re gonna do y’all a little Hag tonight.“

From there, Miranda and Lukas performed a gorgeous rendition of “Silver Wings” in tribute to Kris. Their performance starts around the 1:01:54 mark in the video below.

You’ll want to watch this one, as it’s one of the most thoughtful tributes to Kris we’ve seen so far..