I had the chance to catch up with Charles Esten this morning. This week is a big one for him surrounding the annual Light the Night events. Thursday is the walk, followed by the concert. Friday is Deacon’s bus tour and two shows at the Grand Ole Opry. “It’s very exciting but also like alright here we go, let’s see how much money we can make.”

When asked how he got involved with the organization Charles tells me “In the worst of ways. The origin of course our youngest daughter was diagnosed with leukemia when she was 2 1/2 years old. That’s why we’re called team Addie. We’re beyond grateful that she’s not just happy and healthy, but she’s incredibly strong. She’s about to turn 26. The very next day we will be going up to Washington DC to watch her do the Marine Corp Marathon. 26 miles for 26 years. That’s just all to show what an incredibly happy ending we were blessed with.” We know our happy ending didn’t come from nothing. It took a whole lot of people to try to raise money so that a whole lot of research could be done to bring about the medicine and the chemotherapy that was able to help Addie get fully in remission and live this long, happy, healthy life.”

Not too long after his daughter was diagnosed, the LLS (Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) chapter of Los Angeles reached out. At the time Chip was starring on Whose Line Is It Anyway. He recalls attending a few events and then having Addie be Girl of the Year for one year. Fast forward to Nashville, where the Grand Ole Opry introduced him to the people in charge of LLS Middle Tennessee. They have since changed their name to Blood Cancers United, to show that they help more than just people with leukemia and lymphoma. The focus is on all people with every kind of blood cancer getting access to research and medicine.

“Once we went to our first Night the Light Walk, we were blown away. It was incredibly moving to be standing on that bridge, walking across it with people holding up their lanterns. When Addie was going through it, we were blessed with so many friends and family and yet it was a little bit lonely. And yet nobody is lonely in the middle of a Night the Light Walk. And there’s no darkness.” Charles and his wife Patty were all in from that point.

On these walks you will see three different colored lanterns. The white lantern is for survivors, the red is for those supporting blood cancer patients, and the gold is in memory of someone they lost. “The hope is all the gold and the white and we can lay those red lanterns down.”

This year marks 13 Light the Night Walks and 12 Light the Late Night concerts. Esten figured “The night is young. Why don’t we see if we can get people to a concert. That’s what Nashville is all about. Music has a strong place in combating and healing all these darker things.” I wholeheartedly agree and told him such.

Through the years these shows have featured numerous Nashville show friends, artist friends, and co-writes. When choosing this years’ talent he remembered being at the Opry watching Don Schlitz. “The song is the most powerful part. He’s just standing there playing these songs he wrote (“The Gambler”, “When You Say Nothing at All”, “Forever and Ever Amen”) and people are so moved so lifted. I thought man that would be incredible if Don would consider doing this. So, when I asked him, we were thrilled when he said yes.” “On top of that I had one Opry member and I thought you know what when I first got to Nashville the very first Deacon song I sung was at the Bluebird, Pam Tillis. And from that day I’ve been blessed to get to know her. I thought gosh, I wonder if Pam would do it and when she said yes, I thought that’s the Opry star power that we need.”

Singer-songwriter Ava Paige was just added to the lineup. I’ve known her since she was maybe thirteen years old, so I was happy to see her on the roster. Charles recalls meeting Ava around that time, when she was a keynote patient speaker at a children’s hospital event. “I was so blown away by her. I used to say if she couldn’t play a note, she’d be one of the most impressive people that I’ve ever met just by the way she dealt with her own cancer journey. The way she shared it with others. That would be enough. Or if she’d never had cancer and was just a young artist. She’s amazing. So, the fact that she had both parts in her life. and like you said I’m sure the one part helped the other. I’m so honored to have her there. She has a deep heart and a deep talent.”

When asked what this year’s event means the mood turns somber. “We started off for Addie. That was our reason. And then along the way I lost two uncles to blood cancer 2 years ago. The most recent thing, my wife’s college roommate Lisa’s husband Mike passed away not too long ago from blood cancer. It regains another level of meaning. It’s going to be personal at some point unless we keep fighting this thing.” As hard as it is, it motivates the family to redouble their efforts. “There are times it’s a lot and it would be easier to just take it easy one year. And just when you get to the point where you might want to do that it rears its head in such a terrible personal way.”

I’m at a bit of a loss to say to that sad note and he says “There’s sad notes everywhere, so we bring a whole bunch of glad notes. That’s what the concerts are about. That’s what the walks are about. It’s about the unity of the intention to beat this. And I believe, with my faith and prayer and hard work I believe that that could be in our lifetime. Man, that would be something else if we’re around and blessed to see that. And if we’re not. If we’ve got to the top of the mountain and not able to see the rest of it, at least we get to see glimpses of it with some of the treatments that they’ve come up with. And somewhere down the road it happens well then that will all have been worth it as well.”

Through this Charles remains humbled, giving credit to bigger companies. “There are so many great and giant fundraisers in this town, and our numbers aren’t the same. This is a family and friends affair; we scrap and scrape hard to give what we can. That’s why we are so grateful for any amount that anybody would like to donate. Or for anybody to come around. We’ve seen people that come around once. And once you come you might not stop coming.”

The Deacon bus tour started in 2015 and went through 2018. Whenever friends and family visited, Esten would take them around Nashville showing them all the sights. They really enjoyed it, so he thought fans might as well. “The city of Nashville is not just a setting for the show. It’s more of a character. It’s all over that show.” The bus only holds 50 seats, and they are down to only a few tickets left. “The best part besides the part that we all get to be together, is when those seats sell out that means we’ve raised another $15,000 total for Blood Cancer United. That’s the main thing but it’s also for the fans of Nashville getting the inside look. We are very grateful to Gaylord for donating the bus!”

The Nashville Reunion tour starts in January hitting South Carolina and Nashville. In February they travel to the United Kingdom and Europe. Clare Bowen (Scarlett), Sam Palladio (Gunnar), and Jonathan Jackson (Avery) will be joining him. “We’ve been really fortunate that these fans you’ve been talking about, besides the show they fell in love with the music. And so did we. As someone on the cast we were always so grateful for all the songs that we got to play. And they found their way into the hearts of these folks. And so, when we get together and play people come out and we’re incredibly grateful.” He doesn’t take the show for granted and is looking forward to playing music with old friends again.

Friday night he will be performing at the Grand Ole Opry with Carrie Underwood. It’s his 187th appearance and he couldn’t be more thankful. “Of all the things that I got from Nashville, my connection with the Grand Ole Opry is the one that is hard to top. I’ve been so blessed; to be a part of it there’s really no words. It’s one of the things that I hold most dear to my heart.”

For more information on Light the Night and how you can help visit click on Team Addie’s page here!