Long before RaeLynn hit that famous stage on The Voice and made Blake Shelton turn his red chair around, she was a middle school student playing the cello in the orchestra.

Then in high school, she was playing Babette -- the sassy French feather duster (and maid) -- in her school’s production of Beauty and the Beast.

So, yes, having music in schools is very important to RaeLynn.

“Having that experience at school taught me discipline and rhythm and creativity. And for so many kids, that’s their livelihood,” RaeLynn told me last week when she was in Chicago promoting the 30th anniversary of National Music in Our Schools month with a week-long bus tour.

“Not every kid is good at sports,” she said. “Or school. But every kid has their thing. I’m really passionate about this.”

So passionate, she wrote a song about it. “Always Sing” was one of the tunes she performed during the minitour. With lyrics like, “When you can’t say a word you can always sing” and “We’re all microphones with songs all of our own,” it’s obvious RaeLynn values the music education she had and wants to make sure every child can have the same.

Her tour started at Disney World and wrapped up at Thomas Jefferson Elementary in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Along the way, she stopped at five schools to recognize excellence in music education.