Nashville,
TN – Jan. 10, 2017 – Last night saw Nashville’s mother church, The
Ryman, welcome the second annual “The BIG 98 Presents: Bobby Bones &
The Raging Idiots’ Million Dollar Show For St. Jude.” The show, which
sold-out almost immediately at on-sale, benefited St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital® and marked an unforgettable celebration of the
staggering fundraising efforts of Bobby Bones & The Raging Idiots to
date, which has resulted in $5.9 million being raised for St. Jude
through radiothons, on-air fundraisers, charity concerts and more.
Black
River Entertainment’s Bobby Bones & The Raging Idiots, were joined
by country music superstars and friends, including Craig Campbell,
Lindsay Ell, Sam Hunt, Rascal Flatts, Caitlyn Smith and The Band Perry,
throughout the full-throttle, and spirited evening. A night filled with
impromptu moments, The Ryman’s roof was raised as special surprise
guests Garth Brooks, Brothers Osborne and Thomas Rhett also took to the
stage. As the comedy group played fan-favorites “When I Grow Up,”
“Starbucks!” and more from their highly successful projects, the night
was a nonstop singalong with megastars Rascal Flatts offering a
high-energy performance of “Life Is A Highway,” while The Band Perry
induced foot-stomping with “DONE,” as the enamored audience enjoyed the
lineup’s biggest hits. In keeping with the feel-good nature of the
event, some of the stars also gave special performances of their
favorite tracks. Highlights included Thomas Rhett’s take on DNCE’s “Cake
By The Ocean,” Brothers Osborne’s rendition of Alan Jackson’s
“Chattahoochee” and Sam Hunt’s version of Travis Tritt’s “It’s A Great
Day To Be Alive.”
A
night filled with impromptu moments, the evening came to a touching
crescendo when Garth Brooks took to the stage to present St. Jude
Children’s Research Hospital® with an astounding donation of $2 Million.
The funds were raised after Brooks was inspired by a light-hearted
phone call with Bobby Bones during the The Bobby Bones Show’s Radiothon
broadcast. Upon hearing that the event raised over $1.3 million in just
one day, Brooks was inspired by the generosity of the show’s listeners
to help raise more money, and decided to donate proceeds from a portion
of the sales of his Target exclusive boxed-set THE ULTIMATE
COLLECTION. The memorable show came to a close with Brooks leading the
crowd with a show-stopping singalong of “Friends In Low Places.”
“I’m
still on a crazy high from everything that happened last night,” said
Bobby Bones, host of iHeartMedia’s The Bobby Bones Show. “It’s hard to
put into words how humbling nights like that are. The fact that so many
superstars, that also happen to be really great people, took time out
of their busy schedules to be a part of the event is not lost on me. It
makes everything we do worthwhile, when we can all come together as a
pretty unique community in that sense and benefit an important cause
such as St. Jude. It’s one I’ll never forget.”
“We
are incredibly humbled by the support of Bobby Bones, The Raging
Idiots, Garth Brooks, Brothers Osborne, Thomas Rhett, The Band Perry,
Rascal Flatts, Sam Hunt, Craig Campbell, Caitlyn Smith and the millions
of country music fans that support our mission,” said Richard Shadyac
Jr., President and CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness
organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “The funds
announced last night in support of our mission are staggering and are
another example of the country music industry’s incredible support of
St. Jude for more than 20 years. These funds are critically important in
helping St. Jude doctors and scientists find cures and save the lives
of children in every community who are battling cancer and other
life-threatening diseases.”
Bobby Bones, recently dubbed by
Forbes as
“the most powerful man in country music,” is gearing up to take his
one-man FUNNY & ALONE STAND UP COMEDY TOUR nationwide this year,
revealing a schedule of dates kicking off this weekend in Virginia
Beach, VA on 1/13. The host of iHeartMedia’s The Bobby Bones Show,
reaching millions of listeners on nearly 100 stations, astonishing
demand saw tickets to multiple dates sell out in minutes, prompting
Bones to add more dates to the show that combines his love for country
music and comedy in his distinct humorous patter, while regaling stories
from growing up in rural Arkansas, to hosting the biggest show in
country radio. Bobby Bones’ BARES BONES: I’M NOT LONELY IF YOU’RE
READING THIS BOOK (Dey Street Books) spent four weeks on New York Times
Bestsellers List earlier this year, following an overwhelming debut that
saw the memoir claim the No. One spot on multiple lists including
USA Today and Wall Street Journal. Having broken some of country
music’s freshest talent, while forging uncharted territory in his own
career, Bones was recently honored by ASCAP with the “Partners In Music”
Award, given to those who have shown exceptional dedication in
presenting ASCAP members’ music to the public. For more information
visit
www.bobbybonescomedy.com.
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Photo credit (L-R): Zack Massey, Katie Kauss.
