Darius Rucker has a lot of friends. Put them all together and they can do amazing things. Like raise more than $220,000 for childhood cancer and other life threatening diseases at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Rucker and a handful of today’s top country music stars spent Monday night putting on the sold-out sixth annual “Darius and Friends” benefit concert at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville, then hit the course Tuesday for the Celebrity Tee-Off sponsored by State Water Heaters. The two-day total is almost two times as much as the record $120,000 Rucker earned last year and brings the annual benefit’s total contribution to St. Jude to $660,000.
Rucker was an active master of ceremonies at the Wildhorse, performing his own set of hits and joining every invited star – the lineup included Little Big Town, Brett Eldredge, A Thousand Horses, Brothers Osborne, Scotty McCreery and Steve Wariner – on stage at some point. He stretched his instantly recognizable baritone voice in every direction through a night that included – but was not limited to – a set heavy with songs from his latest No. 1 album, Southern Style. He also brought out a horn section so he and new friend Eldredge could explore their mutual love of Frank Sinatra with covers of “Come Fly With Me” and “That’s Life.”
The South Carolina singer started to show off when he joined A Thousand Horses for a cover of the Black Crowes’ “Hard to Handle” and joined Wariner on the Beatles’ “Get Back.” Rucker finished the night with his now-standard cover of Prince’s “Purple Rain,” a song written for a club just like the Wildhorse.
Eldredge and the guys in A Thousand Horses – both opening on Rucker’s Southern Style Tour – and McCreery woke up early Tuesday for their tee times, joining Vince Gill, Eric Paslay, JT Hodges, Jon Pardi, Joe Nichols, Cole Swindell, David Nail, Dustin Lynch, James Otto and Jana Kramer on the links.
“Darius and Friends” is sponsored by State Water Heaters, Intel, CDW, Two Bits and Humdingers.
For more information about Darius Rucker or to buy tickets for the Southern Style Tour, please visit www.DariusRucker.comand follow @dariusrucker at Twitter.
About State Water Heaters
For nearly 70 years, State Water Heaters has built dependable, long lasting water heaters for commercial and residential applications. State offers over 500 water heater products, and has consistently developed new technologies to ensure longer product life. Based in Ashland City, Tennessee, State has seven water heater manufacturing plants. Hundreds of distribution centers across the United States ensure efficient service to State’s national customer base of residential homeowners, wholesalers, contractors, and other members of the engineering community. All State products are backed by customer technical support and durable tank and parts warranty. For more information, please visit www.StateWaterHeaters.com.
About St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Since opening 50 years ago, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has changed the way the world treats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. No family ever pays St. Jude for the care their child receives and, for every child treated here, thousands more have been saved worldwide through St. Jude discoveries. The hospital has played a pivotal role in pushing U.S. pediatric cancer survival rates from 20 to 80 percent overall, and is the first and only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted to children. It is also a leader in the research and treatment of blood disorders and infectious diseases in children. St. Jude was founded by the late entertainer Danny Thomas, who believed that no child should die in the dawn of life. Join that mission by visiting stjude.org or followingfacebook.com/stjude and twitter.com/stjude.
