Darius Rucker and Friends
Benefit Concert Returns to Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium June 5; Tickets On Sale This Friday
Multi-time Diamond-certified superstar Darius Rucker returns to the historic Ryman Auditorium on Monday, June 5 for his 14th Annual Darius and Friends concert benefiting 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 $3 million to date, will feature an all-star roster of friends to be announced in the coming months.
“This is one of my favorite nights every year,” shares the three-time GRAMMY Award winner. “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, who has always prioritized philanthropic work throughout his career, made a commitment to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital 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, 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, a decade and a half 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, 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.
The event is made possible with support from generous sponsors CDW, AMD, Amazon Web Services, IBM, Arrow Electronics, and Hendrix Enterprises.
For more information, please visit www.DariusRucker.com and follow on social media @DariusRucker.
About Darius Rucker
guitarist of the GRAMMY Award-winning band Hootie & the Blowfish, who have sold more than 25 million albums worldwide including their Double Diamond-certified (21x Platinum) 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 Diamond-certified (11x Platinum) version of “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. His new single, “Fires Don’t Start Themselves,” is available everywhere now as Rucker puts the finishing touches on his forthcoming album, Carolyn’s Boy.
As a lifelong philanthropist, Rucker co-chaired the capital campaign that generated $150 million to help build the new MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital in his hometown of Charleston, S.C. and has raised over $3 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through his annual Darius & Friends benefit concert and golf tournament. In addition, Rucker has 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, Tenn. Rucker is also an avid sports fan, with his NFL x Darius Rucker Collection by Fanatics apparel line available at NFLshop.com, and he is part of the Music City Baseball investment group working to bring an MLB team to Tennessee in addition to serving as a partner at the MGC Sports & Entertainment agency.