Two weeks ago Friday night, Kaitlyn Croker sang in front of the biggest crowd she’s ever seen before.

Croker was the national anthem singer prior to the Red Bandanna Game on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, a night that carried even more emotion than usual when honoring Welles Crowther.

While Croker isn’t technically from the area, her family is. Over two dozen members of that family were on hand to watch the rising country singer sing her heart out.

Before the performance began, Croker wasn’t sure how she’d get through it.

“It’s a hard thing to put into words. This was the biggest crowd I’ve ever sang in front of,” Croker said in a recent phone interview. “To sing it on 9/11, the 25th anniversary, in a game honoring Welles Crowther, what was going through my head was just ‘how can I make this moment about Welles? How can I honor the 9/11 victims and the families that came out to the game?’

“So, it was nerve-racking, but it’s such a beautiful thing. I’m always so honored to sing the anthem every time, but I remember walking up to the 50-yard line and was about to sing…they were playing a video about Welles and his story and my eyes started welling up. For a second, I was like, can I get through this without getting too emotional? Then, I just kind of snapped right into it when I started singing.

“It was such an impactful night for me to see everybody showing up in their white-out gear, wearing red bandannas honoring this incredibly selfless man that sacrificed his life.”

Kaitlyn’s mom Caroline is from Newton, while her father Mike is a fighter pilot from Scituate. Much of the Croker family still lives around New England, but with Kaitlyn’s father being in the military, she was born in California and grew up in southern Maryland and then Nashville.

Still, Croker spent much of her childhood visiting family in Mendon for Christmas and going to Martha’s Vineyard during the summer.

“Any excuse we had to go visit family in Boston, Connecticut, we were up there,” she said. Croker also explained the athletic tie-in her family shares with Crowther.

“We’re actually a lacrosse family. So, as soon as I got the call and told my two older brothers, they were like, ‘do you know what that is?!” Croker said laughing. “They thought being a part of this night was the coolest thing ever and they were so honored to go there also.”

What made the night in Chestnut Hill even more surreal for the family was the fact that Caroline was supposed to be on one of the flights during that tragic day.

“My mom was actually supposed to be on Flight 11, but she was pregnant with my oldest brother,” Kaitlyn explained. “So, it just made that night that much more impactful, knowing that we weren’t supposed to be there. My mom was supposed to be on that flight and circumstances made it happen that she could fly back sooner.”

Croker began signing when she was just four years old, but initially had much bigger plans.

“Up until high school, I actually wanted to be an aerospace engineer test pilot for NASA. Then one day, I just decided you know, I really want to pursue this music thing full time,” she said.

Croker’s biggest moment came when she was able to open for country star Cole Swindell in southern Maryland (in a smaller venue) and she’s recently been on the US 250 Tour. But, with family ties and a unique personal story connected to that fateful day 25 years ago, the experience in Chestnut Hill will forever be one of the brightest moments of her career.

“I had one of the best nights of my life,” she added. “Truthfully, just getting to sit back and see everybody in the stadium be there for somebody else, come together under the banner of lifting up one another and honoring the Red Bandanna game tradition…it was crazy and so beautiful.

“I’m still having a hard time putting it into words. I think we had 25 very close family and friends with us, so we just had the most amazing time. It was an exciting time too. Boston’s my favorite city, so I can’t get over how incredible the whole experience was. Waking up the next morning, I remember feeling the same kind of nervousness I felt before the game. I was like ‘did that really happen?’ Looking back at pictures and videos. It’s hard to realize all of that took place. So many things came together.

“It was just wonderful.”

(You can learn more about Croker’s music and upcoming performances on her Instagram page here)