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Darius Rucker Events Raise Another Half A Million For St. Jude

Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

Fifteen years ago, Darius Rucker first visited St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. He was so moved by the organization, and he was immediately inspired to pledge his support. Rucker continues to do so, via his annual benefit concert, “Darius & Friends.”  The shows have surpassed the $3.6 million mark with this year’s 14th annual “Darius and Friends” benefit concert on Monday night (6/5). The event paired with a corresponding golf tournament and silent auction on Tuesday, June 6. This year’s event raised an all-time high of $560,000 for the cause.

Darius said from the stage, “We started this to be the first thing at CMA Fest, and you guys have now made it a tradition. Thank y’all for coming out. Thank you for supporting St. Jude.”

The show was sold out well in advance despite the famous friends not being revealed until they took the stage; the guests included HARDY, Jelly Roll, Megan Moroney, and Vince Gill.

This year’s event adds yet another successful page to the decade-plus history of “Darius & Friends.” Prior guests have included Lauren Alaina, Jason Aldean, Brooks & Dunn, Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Sheryl Crow, Charles Kelley of Lady A, Ashley McBryde, A.J. McLean of the Backstreet Boys, Brad Paisley, Kenny Rogers and Tommy Thayer of KISS, among many others.

The annual fundraising event helps ensure families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food – so they can focus on helping their child live.

RELATED: Darius Rucker Announces 2023 'Starting Fires Tour'

Rucker recently celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the release of his True Believers album by announcing he will now make the record available on vinyl for the first time. In addition to the standard black vinyl available for preorder, 500 commemorative signed color copies are also available via DariusRucker.com.

Darius said, “This album changed so much for me musically and for our live show. As a kid who worked as a clerk in a record store, there’s a part of me that has always wanted this album to live on vinyl, so this is a great way to commemorate 10 years of Believers.”

Five Pop/Rock Artists That Switched To Country Music

  • Steven Tyler

    In 2016, Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler signed with Nashville’s Big Machine record label and released a solo country album called We’re All Somebody From Somewhere. It didn’t do much to bring the rocker into country music. But he didn’t quit his day job – Aerosmith has just announced their farewell tour.

  • Lionel Richie

    In the spring of 2012, Lionel Richie released a country album featuring many collaborations with country stars called Tuskegee. It featured Lionel’s own popular songs with Shania Twain, Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan, and many more. The country album wasn’t a huge hit, but it did start the friendship between him and his now fellow American Idol judge Luke Bryan.

  • Ed Sheeran

    Ed is just beginning his dip into country music. He performed a song called “Life Goes On” with Luke Combs at the ACM Awards show. Sheeran said he would like to move towards country music in the future.

  • Elle King

    Elle King has been very successful in her dive into country music as she has already charted two number-one country songs, one with Miranda Lambert, “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home),” and “Different For Girls” with Dierks Bentley. King released her debut country album Come Get Your Wife in January. She is currently touring and has been embraced by the country music community and fans.

  • Darius Rucker

    Darius has been the most successful pop/rock star that switched to country music. So far, he has released five country albums, charted eight number-one country songs, and became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2012. He has been nominated for numerous country music awards and got a Country Grammy for Best Solo Country Performance for “Wagon Wheel” in 2013.

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.

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Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group
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