Chris Carmack and his wife, musician Erin Slaver, have joined the growing number of Nashville cast members paying tribute to Hayden Panettiere, sharing a quiet acoustic performance that carried special meaning because both of them knew and worked with her.
Carmack, who played country singer Will Lexington on Nashville, shared the tribute on August 22, only days after Panettiere passed away at age 36. Alongside photographs from their years together, he included a video of himself playing guitar while Slaver accompanied him on violin.
The performance was intentionally simple.
There was no large stage, elaborate production or long introduction. Instead, Carmack and Slaver allowed the music to express much of what they were feeling, creating a personal farewell to someone whose life had been connected to both of theirs through Nashville.
Carmack explained that he and Erin were heartbroken by Hayden’s passing and reflected on the different ways they had known her during the show’s six-season run.
For Carmack, Hayden wasn’t simply another member of the ensemble.
His character frequently crossed paths with Panettiere’s Juliette Barnes, and the two actors also performed music together as part of the show’s extensive soundtrack and concert world. Carmack described himself as having been both Hayden’s scene partner and stage partner during their years on the series.
Erin’s connection to Hayden was different but equally meaningful.
Before marrying Carmack, Slaver was already part of the musical world surrounding Nashville. She appeared on the show as one of Juliette Barnes’ band members and backup singers, meaning she worked directly alongside Panettiere during production.
In fact, Nashville played an unexpectedly important role in Chris and Erin’s own story.
They met through the series while Slaver was performing as a musician. Their friendship eventually became a relationship, and the couple married in 2018. In that sense, the show that connected them to Hayden also helped create their own family.
That history made their tribute feel particularly personal.
Carmack remembered Panettiere as a remarkable talent and expressed sympathy for her family as well as the many people who had the opportunity to know and work with her.
His closing message carried perhaps the greatest emotional weight.
He wrote that he had always believed he would see Hayden again someday—a reflection of how suddenly the possibility of another reunion disappeared.
The post quickly drew responses from friends and fans.
Former Grey’s Anatomy star Kate Walsh was among those offering condolences, describing the musical performance as a beautiful tribute. Other viewers shared memories of watching Carmack and Panettiere together on Nashville.
Their tribute arrives amid an outpouring of memories from the show’s cast.
Nashville, which ran from 2012 until 2018, placed music at the center of its storytelling, with Panettiere’s Juliette Barnes becoming one of the series’ defining characters. Nearly fourteen years after the show premiered, many cast members remain connected through friendships, music and reunion performances.
That has made the reaction to Hayden’s passing feel almost like a reunion nobody wanted to have.
Former co-stars have been sharing photographs, stories and performances from their years together, offering fans glimpses of the relationships that continued long after the television cameras stopped rolling.
For Chris Carmack and Erin Slaver, music was the most natural way to remember her.
It was the thing that originally connected all three of them through Nashville, and years later it became the language they chose for goodbye.
With Chris on guitar and Erin on violin, their understated performance wasn’t simply a tribute to a former co-star—it was a remembrance of a friend and of an extraordinary chapter in their lives that Hayden Panettiere will always be part of.
