Jennifer Nettles stood before the families of the 2,977 people killed on 9/11 and sang a song that was written from the pain of losing someone close.

On Friday, the Sugarland singer performed Vince Gill’s Go Rest High on That Mountain at the 25th anniversary commemoration ceremony in New York City. The official memorial service was held at the site of the attacks and was carried live on C-SPAN.

For Nettles, the performance was more than another appearance in New York. She has spent years working in the city, including on Broadway, and has spoken about how much the city means to her. But standing at the 9/11 memorial on such a significant anniversary carried a much heavier meaning.

After the ceremony, Nettles opened up about how difficult it was to sing while surrounded by so many grieving families. She explained that everyone who lived through 9/11 remembers where they were when the attacks happened, but the families gathered at the memorial continue to carry that loss in a very personal way.

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She said the emotion in front of her made it difficult to sing, describing the feeling of having sadness catch in her throat. Still, she knew she had to continue because the people listening needed the music. Nettles also thanked the musicians who joined her for the performance.

The song itself has a deeply personal history. Gill began writing Go Rest High on That Mountain in 1989 after the death of country singer Keith Whitley. He struggled to finish it, and the song remained incomplete for several years.

Then, in 1993, Gill lost his older brother Bob, who died from a heart attack. That loss gave Gill the reason he needed to finish the song. He released it in 1995 as a single from his album When Love Finds You, with Ricky Skaggs and Patty Loveless providing background vocals.

Over the years, Go Rest High on That Mountain has become one of country music’s most familiar songs of grief and remembrance. It has been performed at funerals and memorials for people from all walks of life, including soldiers, firefighters and country music legends.

Gill himself has spoken about how difficult the song can still be for him to perform.

The song reached another milestone this year when the Library of Congress selected it for the National Recording Registry, recognizing its cultural and historical importance. What began as Gill’s personal expression of grief has become part of the larger American story.

That made the song especially fitting for Nettles to sing at the 9/11 ceremony. Rather than choosing a traditional hymn, she performed a country song written by someone who knew what it meant to lose a loved one and struggle to put that grief into words.

Nettles was not the only country artist honoring the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Lainey Wilson performed Amazing Grace later that evening during 9/11 Tribute in Light: Live from Lower Manhattan, alongside Cyndi Lauper and John Ondrasik of Five For Fighting. Darryl Worley also performed a revised version of Have You Forgotten?, the song he originally wrote in response to the attacks.

There was also a personal connection between Wilson and Gill. At the 2025 Primetime Emmy Awards, Wilson joined Gill for an extended performance of Go Rest High on That Mountain during the In Memoriam segment.

Twenty-five years after the attacks, many younger Americans know 9/11 mainly through history books, documentaries and stories from older generations. But for the families gathered in New York, the loss remains deeply personal.

Nettles’ performance brought that reality into focus. A song Gill first wrote while grieving people he loved was once again used to remember thousands of lives lost, this time in front of the families who continue to carry their memories.