CMA Music Fest doesn’t officially begin until Thursday, but that doesn’t mean fans don’t make a week out of it. There are plenty of events for fans to choose from to fill up their days until Thursday.
One of the earliest events (and one of my favorites) is Darius and Friends, an event that benefits St. Jude. The lineup is always great, but the show sells out before the lineup is even announced.
I attended Darius and Friends for two or three years when it was held at the Wildhorse Saloon. The event has moved to the Ryman Auditorium.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the event. Over the last decade, Darius and Friends has raised $2 million for St. Jude.
As far as I am concerned, cancer is one of scariest words in the English language. I couldn’t even being a parent and being told my child had cancer. I love St. Jude because the do cancer research, but they make sure the families of the patient don’t have to worry about anything but helping their child beat cancer. The parents of St. Jude never get a bill. I think that is amazing.
Before the music started, there was an auction. Two guitars autographed by all the artists at tonight’s show with a personalized note from Rucker were auctioned off for $20,000 each.
Rucker kicked off the music portion of the evening and had most of the crowd standing with his hit “Alright,” one of several hits he performed during the show.
One of the biggest stars on the lineup was Luke Bryan. I’ve seen a few of Bryan’s shows and he is a great performer. I like his music, but I think it is personality and his energy that really make his shows stand out. His performance tonight was no different. He even did a shot on whiskey with Rucker.
The Darius and Friends show gave me the opportunity to watch some of country’s brightest up-and-coming stars.
I had never seen Travis Denning perform live, but I thought he did a good job. I love his song “David Ashley Parker” and he had the crowd standing with his version of “Ramblin’ Man” by the Allman Brothers.
Another new country star that I saw perform for the first time was Jimmy Allen. Like many new artists, I heard him first on SiriusXM The Highway. I loved his song “Best Shot” and I was happy to see it performed live. He also did a great version of “Unwell” by Matchbox 20.
Brett Young and Kane Brown also performed. Brown did a cover of “Three Wooden Crosses” by Randy Travis.
Another great thing about shows like Darius and Friends is the audience is usually treated to some collaborations. One of the first came when Sheryl Crow and Rucker sang “The First Cut Is The Deepest” together. It’s one of those collaborations you don’t see very often. Crow performed her hits “Strong Enough” and “Soak Up The Sun” as well.
Rucker brought out his friend Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum and they performed “Purple Rain” together. At the end of the show, all of the artists came out to perform “Wagon Wheel” as a group.