Old Dominion's Matthew Ramsey Accepts 2023 ACM Awards Win with Cane 2 Months After Breaking Pelvis

The country singer thanked his bandmates for "holding me up when I needed it" while accepting the award for group of the year

FRISCO, TEXAS - MAY 11: (L-R) Trevor Rosen, Matthew Ramsey, Brad Tursi and Geoff Sprung of Old Dominion accept the Group of the Year award onstage during the 58th Academy Of Country Music Awards at The Ford Center at The Star on May 11, 2023 in Frisco, Texas. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
Old Dominion. Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty

Old Dominion's Matthew Ramsey is getting by with a little help from his friends — or in this case, bandmates.

The singer-songwriter, who was injured in a recent ATV accident, took the stage at the 2023 ACM Awards using a cane as he accepted the prize for group of the year.

"Thank you to my friends here for holding me up when I needed it," Ramsey, 45, told his bandmates Trevor Rosen, Brad Tursi and Geoff Sprung Thursday on stage at the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas.

He started his acceptance speech with a shout-out to legends like Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton and Randy Travis, and he said he was grateful to have Old Dominion "included in this party."

"I don't know how. It's an amazing thing that we are mentioned in the same thing," he said. "But I also know that there are people obviously hurting in the world right now, trying to figure out how to make sense of divisiveness and shootings and things like that, and there are people that are really hurting right now. We are so proud to be in a room full of country music fans and make music for those people, but we're most proud to make music for people that are hurting right now."

He continued: "Thank you for including us in this party and allowing us to make music for whoever needs it. We will continue to try and do so."

Ramsey is recovering from a March ATV accident, during which he fractured his pelvis in three places.

"Well friends – I'm afraid I have some disappointing news. I was in an ATV accident that has left my pelvis fractured in three places. The good news is it's gonna heal just fine. The bad news is I'm gonna have to stay home and recover for a little while," he said in a statement at the time. "I know we all had plans to sing and dance together in Key West. I was looking forward to that so much! We will make it up to you!"

Check out PEOPLE's full ACM Awards coverage to get the latest news on country's big night.

He continued: "I promise we'll keep up updated on my recovery and any other shows that might be affected. This tour has been such a blast so far this year and before you know it, I'll be back out there with No Bad Vibes! Love you all. – m"

The injury forced Old Dominion to push three performances on their No Bad Vibes tour to 2024, though the band was able to pick things up again in April.

The 58th Academy of Country Music Awards are airing live from Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas Thursday, May 11 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and stream live exclusively on Prime Video.

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