How this moment of blind, on-stage rage launched Charlie Worsham into better mental health

For country singer Charlie Worsham, Oct. 17, 2014, was supposed to be a magical, dream-come-true night at Nashville's historical Ryman Auditorium.

Worsham scored the second slot on a three-artist concert headlined by Kip Moore. His record label chief came on his tour bus that night. Some relatives traveled in from Mississippi to see the show. And for the first time in his young, major-label career, the words "Worsham" and "Ryman Auditorium" appeared on the same poster.

"This was a big landmark mountaintop kind of moment," Worsham said, "one of those moments you tell your grandkids about."

But opening act Sam Hunt screwed up the whole thing.

Hunt had a monster hit on the radio at the time with "Leave the Night On," and his fans went crazy when Hunt hit the Ryman stage. In fact, on that tour, they kept chanting "Sam Hunt!" even after the opener left the stage and Worsham came on after him.

That infuriated Worsham, who didn't get anywhere near the enthusiastic crowd response that Hunt did.

"At moments, I was in a blind rage," Worsham said, adding he opened a private talk-back microphone and railed to his band and crew.

"My record had died. Sam Hunt was more popular," he said. "I managed not to cuss out crowd that night, but I did some nights."

Worsham also said he was drinking too much and working too much, overwhelmed by the demands of being a major-label artist, and completely disconnected from the love of music that put him on this path in the first place.

In the middle of those challenging days, his record label put him in touch with Porter's Call, a mental health nonprofit in Franklin that provides free services to those in the music industry.

There, he found counseling and direction and suggestions that he could carry out even on the road. That included some phone sessions.

When Worsham came off the road, Porter's Call arranged a stay at in-patient therapy center OnSite, a popular bucolic place for mental health treatment in Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee, about an hour west of Nashville.

No phones, no computers, no last names, no talk about careers or professions.

Worsham, now part of Dierks Bentley's road band, found healing and and ways to cope with anger and how it connects to fear. He has stayed in touch with Porter's Call founder and therapist Al Andrews to get mental health "tune ups".

"My story is not a hit-rock-bottom kind of story. It’s more of a hit-the-rumble-strips-a-couple-times kind of story," Worsham wrote in an email to The Tennessean.

"That angry set on stage at the Ryman, fueled by a few too many drinks, is about as bad as it got for me. Therein lies the importance of Porter’s Call. Porter’s Call helped me avoid the worst and equipped me with tools to create a healthier trajectory for myself."

Worsham has gotten to express his gratitude for Porter's Call by performing at the organization's annual fundraiser and by talking about it on some music podcast appearances.

"Porter's Call just gets it," said Worsham, who's about to release a new album. "I'm at peace with my career. And the healthier I get, the more successful I get."

Do you know of a story of redemption or transformation? Reach Brad Schmitt at brad@tennessean.com or 615-259-8384.

Tuesday night fundraiser for Porter's Call

What: An Evening of Stories, which features speakers and songs from Paramore, Brandon Heath and others in a benefit for Porter's Call

When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday (Aug. 29)

Where: Fisher Center for the Performing Arts, Belmont University

Tickets: $89 to $145

For tickets or more info: www.porterscall.com

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Charlie Worsham's on-stage blind rage sparked a journey to healing