Darius Rucker lit up the stage at the Wildhorse Saloon in downtown Nashville on June 3 for his fourth annual “Darius And Friends” concert to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital presented by Transitions® lenses and Visionworks®. The concert, auction and golf tournament raised $95,260 to help St. Jude provide the best care possible to children with cancer at no cost to their families.
The benefit concert line-up included an introduction from GAC’s Suzanne Alexander and performances from Luke Bryan, Sam Bush, John Cowan, Radney Foster, Mallary Hope, Randy Houser, Dustin Lynch and Justin Moore. Joel Crouse, who is opening 16 stadium dates for Taylor Swift this summer, was a surprise guest. The artists treated the audience to a few of their own hits before singing a cover duet with Rucker – all backed by Rucker’s band, the Carolina Grey Boys. Rucker then invited all of his friends on stage for a group rendition of Hank Williams, Jr. classic “Family Tradition” before he closed out the night with an encore performance of his two-week No. 1 hit single “Wagon Wheel” from his chart topping May 21 album, True Believers.
“I look forward to this event all year long,” shared Rucker. “I get to share the stage with some of my favorite artists, friends and musical influences. As much fun as it is,” continues Rucker, “it’s all in the spirit of raising support for St. Jude’s, an organization very dear to my heart. Getting to sing with Sam Bush and John Cowan from New Grass Revival, one of the bands that made me want to be a country singer, made the night even more amazing for me.” Rucker joined Bush and Cowan for a performance of New Grass Revival’s “Callin’ Baton Rouge.”
The June 4 celebrity golf tournament portion of this year’s “Darius And Friends,” included Nashville Predator J.P. Dumont, country artists Dierks Bentley, Jay DeMarcus (Rascal Flatts), Colt Ford, JT Hodges, Charles Kelley (Lady Antebellum), Dustin Lynch, Justin Moore, David Nail, Joe Don Rooney (Rascal Flatts), Chuck Wicks, NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip and more.
Rucker is currently out on the road for his True Believers Tour with special guests Rodney Atkins and Jana Kramer. Find upcoming tour dates, news and more at www.DariusRucker.com.
About St. Jude
Since opening 50 years ago, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has changed the way the world treats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. No family ever pays St. Jude for the care their child receives and, for every child treated here, thousands more have been saved worldwide through St. Jude discoveries. The hospital has played a pivotal role in pushing U.S. pediatric cancer survival rates from 20 to 80 percent overall, and is the first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted to children. It is also a leader in the research and treatment of blood disorders and infectious diseases in children. St. Jude was founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas, who believed that no child should die in the dawn of life. Join that mission by visiting stjude.org or following us on facebook.com/stjude and twitter.com/stjude.
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