The Ryman Auditorium was filled to the brim on Wednesday, June 6, as country artists and fans packed in for Darius Rucker‘s 13th annual charity event, Darius & Friends.
This year’s fundraising concert raised a record-setting $516,000 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Proceeds from the show were combined with Rucker’s corresponding golf tournament and silent auction. The money will go toward furthering the efforts of St. Jude to put an end to childhood cancer and care for patients during their treatments. Over the course of 13 years, the country singer’s charitable efforts have surpassed the $3 million mark.
This year’s Darius & Friends lineup featured performances from Sheryl Crow, Sara Evans, Lindsay Ell, Caylee Hammack and Rachel Wammack. But the highlight of the night was Addie, a St. Jude cancer survivor who was diagnosed with leukemia when she was 15 years old and has been in remission for the last 5 years. She received a standing ovation after singing “Never Be Enough” from the movie the Greatest Showman.
Rucker was inspired to support St. Jude after he visited one of their facilities nearly 15 years ago.
“You see these kids who are sick, and they’re so happy to be there, because their caregivers are so loving and giving to them,” the country singer shared with Nashville’s Tennessean newspaper in 2021, looking back on his first visit to the facility in 2008. “And then you find out that nobody ever gets a bill. That blew me away. I was just like, ‘We’ll figure out some way to help you guys as much as I can.’”
Darius Rucker + Friends for St. Jude at the Ryman Auditorium
Darius Rucker brought five of country music’s most talented singers to the Ryman Auditorium during his annual benefit show for St. Jude. The June 6 concert is for many the unofficial kick off of CMA Fest week.