Darius Rucker Announces 14th Annual Nashville Benefit Concert

Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

April 17th, 2023 2:17 PM

Darius Rucker will report to the Ryman Auditorium on Monday, June 5, for his 14th Annual Darius and Friends concert benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The event has raised more than $3 million to date, will feature an all-star roster of friends to be announced in the coming months.

Darius said of the event, “This is one of my favorite nights every year. The work St. Jude does for children and their families and the medical advances they are constantly making – it all continues to amaze me. It’s a huge honor to bring together some of my best friends in Nashville each summer to do what we can to support them through this event.”

Rucker committed to supporting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital 15 years ago after taking an inspiring tour of the hospital. Through this experience, he learned how St. Jude treats, and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

RELATED: Darius Rucker Announces 2023 'Starting Fires Tour'

Reflecting on his 2008 visit to the hospital, Darius noted, “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. 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.'”

Friends performing with Rucker in past years 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 lineup for this year’s event will be announced soon.

Tickets to the 14th Annual Darius & Friends benefit concert start at $69 with VIP package options up to $249, available via AXS.com. Pre-sale access begins tomorrow, April 18, at 10 a.m. CT, with tickets on sale to the general public this Friday, April 21, at 10 a.m. CT.

Country Stars Who Embrace The Grand Ole Opry

• Carrie Underwood

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  Opry Induction date - MAY 10TH, 2008 - Carrie's Opry dream came true on March 15, 2008, when Randy Travis surprised her on the Opry stage with an invitation to join the cast of the show. "Let me think about it," she said playfully before responding with an emphatic "Yes!" as she wiped tears from her eyes. She was introduced to the Opry by Country Music Hall of Famer Bill Anderson and Garth Brooks inducted her.

• Garth Brooks

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  Opry Induction date - OCTOBER 6TH, 1990 - Garth made his debut on June 24, 1989, and wept tears of joy on the occasion. He joined the show's cast a year later, with Johnny Russell inducting him, and he has called that night one of the proudest moments of his career.

• Blake Shelton

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  Opry Induction date - OCTOBER 23RD, 2010 - On his Opry induction night backstage, Blake said that records and awards don't mean as much to him as the Grand Ole Opry. He said, "This is the reason that you move to Nashville to me. This is what I wanted from the beginning."
• Luke Combs

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  Opry Induction date - JULY 16TH, 2019 - Before becoming a member, Luke told us it was a big deal to him to play the Opry. He said, "It just seems like this thing that is unattainable, and it seems like something that you will never be able to do. I wish the Opry called me, but I was fighting for it from the start, and that was really something super important to me."

• Brad Paisley

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  Opry Induction date - FEBRUARY 17TH, 2001- When Brad was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2001, George Jones wrote him a letter that Paisley read to the crowd. It said in part, "I am counting on you to carry on the tradition and make folks sit up and listen to what good country music should sound like."

• Ashley McBryde

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  Opry Induction date - DECEMBER 10TH, 2022- Garth Brooks invited her to join the Grand Ole Opry on GMA Live on TV as she cried in accepting the honor.
• Kelsea Ballerini

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  Opry Induction date - APRIL 16TH, 2019 - Kelsea was inducted as a Grand Ole Opry member in 2019. At the time, she notably became the Opry's youngest member in its nearly 100-year history since being founded in 1925.

• Keith Urban

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  Opry Induction date - APRIL 21ST, 2012 - Keith became a member of the Grand Ole Opry after being surprised by Vince Gill two weeks earlier with an invitation to join the Opry.

• Darius Rucker

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  Opry Induction date - OCTOBER 16TH, 2012 - Darius told us a couple of years after his Opry member induction, "It will always be someplace special. It will always be my home now in Nashville. I just love it, and every time I walk in, I touch my plaque, and when I leave, I touch my plaque because that moment when Vince (Gill) inducted me was the first time I felt like I was part of country music."
• Little Big Town

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  Opry Induction date - AUGUST 12TH, 2022 - Opry member and friend Reba McEntire invited Little Big Town to join the Grand Ole Opry in 2014. As the group finished a three-song set with "Pontoon," Reba appeared from the side of the stage, improvising on the song's last few words and asking the question Karen, Kimberly, Jimi, and Phillip had been hoping to hear. "I know the Grand Ole Opry is very important to y'all, because this is the first place you guys played together as a group in 1999. I have been asked to ask y'all, Little Big Town, would y'all like to be a member of the Grand Ole Opry?"

• Dierks Bentley

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  Dierks has always been a champion for the Grand Ole Opry and even introduced it to Elle King, who sang with him on the Opry stage in 2016. She recently made her solo debut on the Opry.

• Carly Pearce

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  Opry Induction date - AUGUST 3RD, 2021- Grand Ole Opry member Dolly Parton extended the coveted invitation to Carly after 85+ appearances.

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Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

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