Monday evening 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. For more information visit www.bobbybonescomedy.com.
