Keith Urban shares special moment during concert with Pittsburgh-area teen who is visually impaired
Most people go to concerts to enjoy their favorite musical artists and listen to their favorite songs. Some also come for the experience of witnessing their favorites perform in person, with hopes of getting even a glimpse of the musicians up close.
A Washington County teenager with special needs got to experience both of those things, along with an unforgettable moment her family will cling to forever.
Jennifer Mowod of Cecil Township says she received tickets to a recent Keith Urban concert in Ohio from her two daughters, Carly and Cassie, as a Mother's Day gift. Cassie, 19, is visually impaired and has autism.
Mowod said she was advised how Urban often responds to signs in the crowd.
"I have a high school friend who has gone to numerous Keith Urban concerts, and she's like, 'Jen, if he's near a sign, he recognizes it, so you have to have a good sign,'" Mowod said. "So that was what me and my older daughter came up with. ... So, we wrote it out, but then we also did Braille on it, too, kind of for effect."
The sign Jennifer and Carly came up with said, "I can't see you, but I can hear you." And as it turns out, Urban, moving through and playing through the crowd, saw the sign.
"He, at the time, would not have known that she has autism," said Mowod. "So, he saw the sign, and you can see in the video where he kind of sees it, stops in his tracks and backtracks."
When Urban came back toward the three, he approached Cassie, and then hugged her, a moment that Carly — and several others in the crowd — captured on video.
"As a parent of a special needs child, it was, honestly, the most beautiful thing I've witnessed between a stranger and my daughter," said Mowod, a board member with the Autism Caring Center. "The other thing that I think completely struck me was, all of the people around us, nobody was trying to take that moment from her. It was almost like time stood still for that little bit of time."
At least half a dozen people sent Mowod the videos they shot, and Carly eventually posted it on TikTok. Urban reposted the video from his account and also commented on it.
"I want to think that it meant something to him, too," said Mowod. "And I hope this whole thing just is a reminder to people that just a 20-second bit of kindness can change somebody's whole entire outlook."
Mowod says she's sharing Cassie's story, not because of the number of likes or comments, but to raise awareness for the special needs community and to share the same kindness that was given to her.
"My older daughter put on her TikTok video, 'Thank you for seeing Cassie in a world where so many people don't,'" she said.
