We kicked off CMA Fest week with a trip to the Ryman for the 17th annual Darius & Friends benefit concert. The event raised money for St. Jude, an organization near and dear to Rucker’s heart. The lineup is always a surprise, so you never know who is going to show up. This year featured performances from Darius Rucker, along with Lauren Alaina, Jason Aldean, Mark Wills, Carter Faith, and Randy Houser.

Newcomer Carter Faith did a few originals, along with a fun rendition of Britney Spears “Hit Me Baby (One More Time)”. Mark Wills performed the classics “Jacob’s Ladder” and “19 Somethin'” as well as a cover of “Dixieland Delight”. Lauren Alaina premiered a brand-new song in addition to her biggest hit “Road Less Traveled”. Randy Houser played a few of his hits and brought down the house with his vocals. Jason Aldean did a few of his hits, though I was disappointed as he seemed like he wasn’t fully into the performance even messing up lyrics.

Darius performed many of his major hits including “For the First Time”, “Beers and Sunshine”, “Alright”, and a Hootie & The Blowfish classic “Only Wanna Be with You”.

The true highlight of the night was of course, the kids. They had a few guest announcers that were patients from St. Jude. The best performance of the night was when Lauren Alaina came out to join Rucker on a Johnny Cash tune “Jackson”.