Watch this adorable Alabama child rock a gig with his favorite band at a Mobile concert

In recent years, Callaghan's Irish Social Club, a popular bar that sits on the edge of Mobile's downtown area and its Oakleigh Historic Garden District, has been no stranger to developing budding regional talent.

The likes of Alabama Shakes and St. Paul and the Broken Bones are prime among the list of performers regulars at Callaghan's take pride in acknowledging, before saying, "They really played here, once upon a time." Photos of both bands, along with many others, pepper the walls, interspersed with pictures of local faces from the past and present. And while, photos of those fading memories may keep the lore of Callaghan's alive, a recent Facebook video of an unknown local talent has carried the spirit of the club outside its own walls in a manner that warms the heart.

On August 19, Mobile-based band Paw Paw's Medicine Cabinet played through most of their set with their ordinary five-piece lineup. But, when time came for their single, "Old House", they welcomed seven-year-old Tristan Heathco to the stage to sing lead and play guitar.

The short-stature child stood tall with rock star hair twice as big as his head, strumming along. There was little preface from the band on how Tristan was connected to them and their music. In the moment, it didn't matter. With a presence well beyond the elementary school talent show productions one might expect, Heathco had the hearts of everyone in the crowd, as many drew in closer to get their eyes and camera phones fixated on him.

"I was behind the bar, and someone said, 'That is the cutest kid ever!' He was so little that I couldn't even see him," Callaghan's owner John Thompson says, of the encounter. "I walked up, and there were girls tearin' up. It was a really cool moment."

Ever a showman, Heathco even saved room for theatrics. At the end of the song, he grabbed the mic, telling the crowd, "I love you, everybody!" In the same moment, his guitar fell to the floor, producing the clang many would associate with reckless instrument smashing. In reality, the little entertainer's strap had come undone in all the excitement. Still, it was pretty rock n' roll!

The moment, captured in a tall, grainy cell-phone video was posted to Facebook by bar patron Shane Rice, before Thompson got ahold of it and uploaded it to the Callaghan's fan page. In just over a week, the performance has been viewed more than 12,000 times.

Heathco's great-grandmother and guardian, Kathy Metz, accompanied Tristan to his performance. It was the first time she'd been to Callaghan's in decades, having worked at the club briefly in 1981. She admits she's still overwhelmed by the outpouring fans of the video are leaving in the Facebook comments. She says Heathco has even gotten recognized in public.

"I was just glad my son was getting to perform on stage and do something that he really loves. I had no idea that it'd go like this," she says.

In fact, she says it is a miracle to see the little boy she calls her son sing at all.

"The only thing I can say is: he wasn't really expected to live past two-years-old," she says.

According to Metz, when Heathco was born, he remained in the hospital for five months, suffering with numerous complications. At six months, he stopped breathing and went into a coma.

"Doctors gave us zero hope," Metz says. "But, I don't know. The Lord spoke to me one night and said that Tristan was going to touch many lives and he would make it - that his smile was going to brighten a lot of days."

Doctors diagnosed him with Noonan Syndrome, a genetic illness that is expressed through several physical defects, as well as symptoms that affect the heart and kidney. In many cases, including Tristan's, those diagnosed with Noonan syndrome have trouble hearing, a fact made even more apparent by Tristan's hearing aid, to which he is still getting adjusted.

"I asked his doctors how he is able to hear music like he does and follow along when he has trouble hearing the tone of a person's voice," Metz says. "They said it's amazing how some people who can't hear or see well can follow along with music, when they can't follow anything else. They just feel it."

Metz says Tristan to an interest in music almost immediately, as a toddler, saying that he would grab everything in the house and pretend it was a guitar. The behavior prompted her to buy him an actual instrument, which he decided to take with him everywhere.

"One day, when he was about three (years-old), I was on the road, and Brad Paisley was on the radio. All the sudden, I heard the same music coming from the back seat," she says. "He was strumming along to the song. I thought, 'Hmm... I need to get him a better guitar. So I did."

Now a student at Maryvale Elementary School, Heathco's afterschool routine revolves around deep dives for music on YouTube.

"If he likes it, he plays along. If he doesn't like it, he shuts it down and starts over again!" Metz says.

Tristan explains that's the very way he discovered the local band who invited him onstage. "I was just going through YouTube and then I found them," Heathco says. "I decided to play it. I liked the song."

When Tristan was along with his great-grandmother to tend to horses she keeps in a stable in Foley, they encountered a woman who mentioned that her stepson was playing at Callaghan's soon. When they found out her stepson was Mike Jernigan, one of the lead singers in Paw Paw's Medicine Cabinet, Tristan was overjoyed. The woman invited Metz and Heathco to come to their home the next day, which happened to be the same day as Jernigan's birthday celebration.

"When I came over there to do my birthday thing, Tristan and his mom had gotten there before I did. When I walked in the door, he just started going crazy. He was saying, 'Aw, man. I met a famous person!' Which is just crazy. We're not famous," Jernigan says. "But, to him, seeing us singing on YouTube was a trip. And here I am walking in the door."

Jernigan and Heathco sang the band's tune "Old House" together on the spot. Of course, the seven-year-old needed no help with the words.

After inviting Heathco out to join him for the song at the Callaghan's show, Jernigan still says he's astounded by the response.

"It's shocking to me, really. It wasn't supposed to be anything like that, really. All it was, was this cute little boy, who met my stepmom and wanted to meet me," he says. "We wanted to do something special for him because he was so into the band. All we were trying to do was be a good band for him. We wanted to be good to our little fan, man. We brought him up, and we didn't think anybody would record it or make a big deal about it. We just wanted to do what's right for our biggest little fan."

Now, just like his heroes from YouTube, Tristan Heathco is the star of his own video and its made quite the impression, inspiring talks about where the moment sits in the ranks of Callaghan's best musical moments.

"Ooooh! That's top three - easy!" Thompson says. "Depending on when you ask me, it could be top one!"

"Several people have asked who he's played here with before, and I'm like, 'You don't get it. I've never seen this kid. He just popped up and sang.'"

Jernigan, Metz and Thompson all agree that Mobile's newest little rock star shouldn't stop after such a big debut. Paw Paw's and Callaghan's are currently in talks to figure when their next show in the venue will be. Jernigan says he already has plans to impliment the band's youngest unofficial member into the set list.

Thompson might want him sooner than that.

"I was talking to Mike after the show, and told him, 'Man, that was cool!' He agreed and said, 'When do you y'all want to do it again?' I asked, 'What are y'all doing tomorrow night?'"