Multi-Platinum superstar Darius Rucker will return to the historic Ryman Auditorium on Monday, June 6 for his 13th Annual Darius and Friends concert benefitting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®. The event, which unofficially kicks off the week of CMA Fest in downtown Nashville and has raised more than $2.5 million to date, will feature an all-star roster of friends to be announced in the coming weeks.
“I can’t wait to be back at the Ryman with all of our friends from St. Jude,” shares the three-time GRAMMY Award winner. “This show is always a highlight of the year for me, because it not only raises funds for a very important cause, but it also allows me to bring together some of my best friends in Nashville for a fun night of incredible music.”
Rucker, who has always prioritized philanthropic work, made a commitment to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital nearly 15 years ago after taking an inspiring tour of the hospital. Through this meaningful experience, Rucker learned how St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Reflecting on his 2008 visit to the hospital to the Tennessean ahead of last year’s show, Rucker 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.’”
Now, more than a decade later, that effort has become an annual tradition. Friends performing with Rucker in past years have included Lauren Alaina, Jason Aldean, Brooks & Dunn, Brothers Osborne, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Sheryl Crow, John Daly, Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum, 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 13th Annual Darius & Friends benefit concert start at $50 with VIP options up to $150, available via AXS.com. Pre-sale access begins tomorrow, April 6 at 10 a.m. CT, with tickets on sale to the general public this Friday, April 8 at 10 a.m. CT.
The event is made possible with support from generous sponsors AMD, Hendrix Enterprises, CDW, Intel, Fanatics, Hewlett-Packard, CAA and Arrow Electronics.
For more information, please visit www.DariusRucker.com and follow on social media @DariusRucker.
About Darius Rucker
Rucker first achieved multi-Platinum status in the music industry as lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the GRAMMY Award-winning band Hootie & the Blowfish, who have sold more than 25 million albums worldwide including their Diamond-certified debut Cracked Rear View, which remains among the Top 10 best-selling studio albums of all time. Since releasing his first Country album in 2008, Rucker has earned a whole new legion of fans with four No. 1 albums on the Billboard Country chart, including RIAA Platinum-certified Learn to Live and True Believers, plus 10 No. 1 singles at Country radio and 11 Gold, Platinum or multi-Platinum certified hits. Rucker was inducted as a Grand Ole Opry member in 2012 and in 2014 he won his third career GRAMMY Award for Best Solo Country Performance with his 9x Platinum version of Old Crow Medicine Show’s “Wagon Wheel,” one of the top five best-selling Country songs of all time. He co-hosted the 54th annual CMA Awards in 2020 and topped the charts at Country radio once again with “Beers And Sunshine” in 2021. Follow up single “My Masterpiece” is available everywhere now as Rucker puts the finishing touches on a forthcoming album.
As a lifelong philanthropist, Rucker supports the MUSC Children’s Hospital in his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina and has also raised millions of dollars for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through his annual Darius & Friends benefit concert and golf tournament. Rucker has also advocated for over 200 charitable causes supporting public education and junior golf programs in South Carolina through the Hootie & the Blowfish Foundation and serves as a National Chair for the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville.
About St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Its purpose is clear: Finding cures. Saving children.® It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80% since the hospital opened in 1962. St. Jude won’t stop until no child dies from cancer. St. Jude shares the breakthroughs it makes, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. Because of generous donors, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food, so they can focus on helping their child live. Visit St. Jude Inspire to discover powerful St. Jude stories of hope, strength, love and kindness. Join the St. Jude mission by visiting stjude.org, liking St. Jude on Facebook, following St. Jude on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok, and subscribing to its YouTube channel.
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