HARDY thought up an end-of-tour gift that was so good, it brought Stephen Wilson Jr. to his knees. The “Father’s Son” singer wrapped up his tour dates for 2025 earlier this year. Two of his big, almost-finale shows took place at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. During the first night of his two-night Ryman stand, the 46-year-old brought out his good friend HARDY – who has helped Wilson Jr.’s out a lot early in his career – to help him sing “Father’s Son.” HARDY shared a video thanking Stephen for the opportunity shortly after they shared the stage: @hardyThank you @stephen.wilson.jr for letting me come up and play Father’s Søn with you last night at the Ryman. This is a special song that I will always be honored to sing with you. ♬ Father’s Søn – Acoustic – Stephen Wilson Jr. & HARDY That’s a stellar pairing right there. While HARDY was up on stage, Stephen Wilson Jr. brought up the fact that his friend had gotten him a John Mellencamp-created gift as a end of tour present. For those that don’t know, Wilson Jr. and rock-legend John Mellencamp come from the same hometown – Seymour, Indiana. The “Jack & Diane” singer has always been a huge inspiration to him, and Wilson Jr. is also a boxer, like his father before him… so having his musical hero paint a picture of Joe Louis, a boxing icon, is the ultimate one-two punch: “He gave me the coolest after-tour gift that I’ve ever seen given on planet Earth. He gave it to me while we were setting up earlier today. I’ve done everything I can not to bust out bawling. I’ve got a Chernobyl level break down waiting to happen after all this is over. This man brought a painting of Joe Louis painted by John Mellencamp. If you know me, you know what that means to me. It’ll go up as the centerpiece of my house. It’ll be what everyone sees when they walk in my house… there’s not enough gratitude for a present that good.”  Until now, we were just left to imagine what that painting actually looked like. Thanks to Stephen Wilson Jr.’s video celebrating 2025 and looking ahead to 2026 that he posted on New Year’s Eve, we can now see that very painting of Joe Louis, and the moment that HARDY gifted to him that literally brought Wilson Jr. to his knees: Happy New Year. a lot can happen in a year…thank y’all for showing up. love y'all. see you in the Spring. pic.twitter.com/hH8xBln77E — Stephen Wilson Jr. (@SWJMusic) December 31, 2025 What a beautiful, meaningful painting… and it went up as a centerpiece at his house, just like he said it would. And what a year for Stephen Wilson Jr., eh? Something tells me he’s going to keep his momentum rolling into 2026, and I can’t recommend seeing him live enough. He’s got plenty of dates lined up for 2026, so make sure to take a look at this list and plan accordingly: 2026 Tour Dates: 1/27-1/31: Key West, FL – Mile 0 Festival * 2/17: Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall 2/26: Tulsa, OK – BOK Center ^ 2/27: Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena ^ 2/28: Austin, TX – Moody Center ^ 3/6: Columbus, OH – KEMBA Live! # 3/7: Grand Rapids, MI – GLC Live at 20 Monroe # 3/10: Cleveland, OH – The Agora # 3/11: Detroit, MI – The Fillmore # 3/14: Toronto, ON – HISTORY # 3/18: Boston, MA – Citizens House of Blues # 3/21: Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount # 3/22: Port Chester, NY – The Capitol Theatre # 3/25: Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore # 3/28: Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore # 4/11: Bossier City, LA – The Paradise Theater at Margaritaville Bossier City # 4/15: St. Louis, MO – The Pageant # 4/17: Kansas City, MO – The Midland Theatre # 4/18: Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom # 4/22: Omaha, NE – Steelhouse Omaha # 4/24: Madison, WI – The Sylvee # 4/25: Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed # 6/6: Lexington, KY – Railbird Music Festival * 7/18: Whitefish, MT – Under the Big Sky Festival * * – Festival # – Gary The Torch tour ^ – Supporting Eric ChurchThe post Stephen Wilson Jr. Finally Reveals The Painting He Got From Hardy That Brought Him To His Knees first appeared on Whiskey Riff.