Actual Veterans Join Country Star Kane Brown in New Version of Hit ‘Homesick’

Rising Nashville star Kane Brown made a huge splash last fall with his platinum single “Homesick.” He’s just released a new remix with vocals by veterans Generald Wilson, J.W.; and Sal Gonzalez as part of a charity campaign in partnership with Crown Royal.

The original song’s success was fueled in no small part by a moving video filmed in cooperation with the California National Guard. Brown and co-writers Brock Berryhill, Matt McGinn, and Taylor Phillips composed a song about the singer’s own touring experiences and the artist decided his lyrics about missing loved ones could apply equally to our men and women in uniform.

Now it’s 2020 and things have gotten crazy. Epic tours have been cancelled and artists are stuck at home, looking for ways to stay creative in this time of crisis. His solution is a creative charitable campaign that will be funded by the number of times listeners stream the new version of his song.

The new version features Generald Wilson, Retired Petty Officer First Class, U.S. Navy; J.W. Cortés, Retired Gunnery Sergeant, U.S. Marines; and Sal Gonzalez, Retired Lance Corporal, U.S. Marines. Wilson is known for performing the National Anthem at NFL games and other professional sporting events. Cortés is now an actor who’s appeared on television shows like “Gotham” and “The Night Shift.” Gonzalez competed on “America’s Got Talent” and has appeared in the TV series “Nashville.”

Check out a video that shows the four men talking about this new recording:

For every stream of “Homesick (Veterans Version)” The Crown Royal Purple Bag Project will pack one of its iconic bags as a care package to donate to the non-profit Packages From Home with a goal of distributing a million bags by the end of 2020.

In addition, each stream will generate a $1 donation to community-based 501(c)3 organization Minority Veterans of America, up to $100,000.

Those bags don’t actually include any Crown Royal whisky but, as anyone who enjoys the drink can tell you, those bags are excellent for storage and the electric purple color makes them easy to find in a toolbox or sock drawer. No matter what else comes in the bag, the bag itself is a prize all on its own.

The project looks like a win for everyone: great song, great new idea, great cause and great new version. Brown’s team has come up with a helpful links page to take you straight to the song on your favorite streaming service, no matter if it’s Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon Music, YouTube or Pandora.

You can also just listen via the YouTube video embedded here below. One listen = one bag. Now get to work.

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