Backroad Anthem Release ‘Torn’ Music Video in Honor of Craig Strickland

Following the death of lead singer Craig Strickland, Backroad Anthem have released a music video for their song "Torn" in his honor.

The clip, filmed in 2015, features behind-the-scenes footage of the band mixed with shots of them performing the song.

"We wanted to finally release the video and share with everyone so you could have a chance to see Craig doing what he loved," the band writes on Facebook. "We are so proud of how it turned out, and we know Craig was too."

Backroad Anthem began their career in October of 2012. In addition to Strickland on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, the country/rock band includes Toby Freeman on vocals and electric guitar, fiddler Eric Dysart, guitarist Josh Bryant, bassist and vocalist Brandon Robold and drummer Isaac Senty. The group has opened for country artists including Chris Young, Gary Allan and Tyler Farr; they had a New Year’s Eve show planned in Little Rock, Ark., prior to Strickland’s disappearance. There is no official word about the band’s future plans in light of Strickland’s death.

Search and rescue teams — including members in the air, on land and in sonar-equipped boats — had been searching a two-mile area of Kaw Lake in Kay County, Okla., where 29-year-old Strickland, his 22-year-old friend Chase Morland and Strickland’s dog Sam went for a duck hunt early on Dec. 27, despite severe weather conditions. (Evidence suggests that they likely never got an opportunity to begin their hunt.) The search began after Strickland and Morland failed to make contact with their families for 24 hours.

Morland’s body was recovered on the afternoon of Dec. 28, with Sam found, alive, next to his body. On Dec. 31, search crews discovered footprints, boat marks and dog prints that helped them narrow their search area, and a few days later, Strickland’s body was recovered in the same general area. The singer had been able to get out of the water after his boat capsized.

"Craig was the epitome of the kind of person you love to be around: positive, funny, charismatic, enthusiastic and ridiculously inspired by what was in the future of his band," Backroad Anthem's manager, Peter Hartung, says. "... We will miss him so much and think about him forever. Rest in peace my friend, so glad you came into my life and so sad it was for so short of a time. Your voice will sing in my heart forever."

For friends and fans looking for a way to help out, a GoFundMe account has been set up to help cover expenses associated with the search efforts and Strickland’s burial.

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