The Sold-Out Fundraiser Brought in $315,000 for the Artists’ Foundations

 

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Alabama’s MOJO roared into the new year on Thursday night in Birmingham, Alabama, when Jamey Johnson and Megan Moroney performed an unforgettable one-night-only acoustic show at The Social at the Fennec that raised $315,000 for their respective charities.

About 260 people gathered on a cold Birmingham night and enjoyed shrimp and grits, mac and cheese bites, prime rib sliders, Fennec chicken sliders, vegetable spring rolls, bang bang shrimp, and cake pops. Those in attendance included Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves and his wife, Elee, songwriters Rob Hatch and Jeremy Popoff and several state senators and representatives.

The girls in the crowd sang along with Moroney’s songs, while the men held up their phones to record Johnson. “We don’t really get a lot of little girls at my shows, but we sell a hell of a lot of beer,” Johnson said. Moroney quipped, “We have a lot of little girls, but we don’t sell a lot of beer!” 

The show’s name, MOJO, was derived from a blend of the first two letters of each artist’s last names. “If you like JOMO more, you can say that too!” Moroney told the crowd.

The event, which was hosted by radio personality Storme Warren of The Big 615, benefitted Jamey and Brittney Johnson’s Give It Away Foundation, which supports charities close to their hearts and those that help communities during times of crisis, as well as The Megan Moroney Foundation, which focuses on combating bullying and promoting mental health awareness.

Auction items included two alligator hunts, which sold for $9,000 each, three hog hunts, which went for a total of $21,000, and a pair of Moroney’s autographed personal boots, which garnered $4,500. A custom hand-tooled saddle by famed leather craftsman Cody Hixon was purchased for $14,000 by Jimmy John’s founder Jimmy John Liautaud, who immediately donated it back to be auctioned again, bringing in another $14,000.

“The Give It Away Foundation exists so that we can help people we see that are in need,” Johnson says, noting that the fund will also create scholarships. “Somebody’s house burns down and we need to find them a hotel to stay in for a few months, or someone has another hardship and they just need a helping hand. The reason for doing this was to raise money for the foundation.”

In addition, the evening celebrated a connection the duo has outside of the music business. Last year, Moroney’s father retired from a Birmingham company called O’Neal Steel, where Johnson worked before finding success in country music. “I worked for O’Neal Steel back in the nineties when I needed a second-shift job. I’ve kept up with the owner, Craft O’Neal, since then. It was a way for Megan and me to give back to Craft and O’Neal Steel as well.” (O’Neal also owns The Fennec, which hosted the event.)

They learned of the connection outside of the Grand Ole Opry, when Moroney’s father told Johnson about their common employer.  “When we realized that connection, we thought it would be so fun to go down to Birmingham and do a show together,” Moroney adds. “Here we are!”

Johnson and Moroney have become good friends, sharing the stage at various venues, including the Grand Old Opry. Johnson and Deana Carter issued the official invitation for Moroney to make her Grand Ole Opry debut in 2023. Johnson was an early and enthusiastic supporter of Moroney, inviting her to join his tour in 2022. “She blew us off the stage every night,” he told the crowd.

“Jamey really took a chance on me when he took me out on the road,” said Moroney before sharing, “…it was my band’s and my first tour. We were driving around in a church van and U-Haul. I told Jamey that I really felt like I had made it when the U-Haul tire blew, and instead of waiting on AAA, I said, ‘Put it on the card.’

“This song came out while we were on tour with Jamey,” she said before performing her breakout hit, “Tennessee Orange.” (When the audience cheered, Johnson joked, “Cut that out! This is Roll Tide territory!”)

The show was a wonderful blend of humor and humility, with both songwriters sharing the stories behind their compositions.  Johnson opened the show with the Trace Adkins’ hit “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk,” which Johnson co-wrote with Dallas Davidson and Randy Houser. “This is arguably one of the two worst songs in country music history,” he joked.

Moroney jokingly warned against the mistreatment of songwriters because the creators get the last word as she did in her songs “Sleep on My Side” and “Lucky.” “If you know anything about me, knowing I have questionable taste in men is one of the Top 5 things you know,” said the singer/songwriter, who was accompanied by her band mate, Alex Shernit, on guitar. 

“I wrote this song because I have this ex I knew that I should not be answering, so I wrote a song called ‘Lucky.’” (She also performed “Beautiful Things,” “Am I Okay?” and her new song, “Wish I Didn’t,” which was released nationally about four hours later giving the charitable crowd the first live performance of the highly-anticipated release).

Two of the night’s most powerful moments occurred when the two united their voices on Don Williams’ hit “Till the Rivers All Run Dry,” which was co-written by Williams and Wayland Holyfield, and John Prine’s iconic song, “Angel from Montgomery,” which mentions Johnson’s hometown.

Johnson, who also performed “High Cost of Living,” “Women,” and “The Dollar” closed the show with “In Color,” his hit he wrote with Lee Thomas Miller and James Otto that was named Song of the Year by both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music. “This song is heartfelt, to say the least. I miss my grandparents all the time, so here is one for the Greatest Generation.” 

“We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support we received,” Brittney Johnson shared. “We were proud to team up with Megan for our first fundraising event and help support her mission of mental health awareness. It was a great night of music and fellowship in support of great causes.”

About Jamey Johnson:
Ten-time GRAMMY nominee Jamey Johnson has been called “one of the greatest country singers of our time,” by The Washington Post. Johnson’s music has garnered international acclaim and is embraced by fans of classic and contemporary country, as well as Americana and mainstream rock. He released his latest album, Midnight Gasoline, a collaboration between his label, Big Gassed Records, and Warner Music Nashville, in November 2024. Johnson also recently released “Never Gonna Be” with Ronnie Dunn and “Smoke” with Riley Green.

The Grand Ole Opry member is also widely regarded as one of the greatest country songwriters of his generation. He is one of only two people in the history of country music (along with Kris Kristofferson) to win two Song of the Year awards in the same year – for “Give It Away” and “In Color” – from the Academy of Country Music and the Country Music Association. 

A consummate storyteller, his songs have been recorded by George Strait, Trace Adkins, Willie Nelson, James Otto, Joe Nichols and others. 

His recent prime-time television performances have been widely recognized as the best of the shows, from singing “Georgia on My Mind” in the CBS special Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration and “Angels Among Us” for the CMT Giants: Alabama to performing “Beer for My Horses” with Lainey Wilson for the top-rated NBC special Toby Keith: American Icon (available to stream on Peacock).

The Recording Industry Association of America also honored Johnson for sales/streams of 9 million, including the 5X platinum-certified single “In Color,” the 2X platinum-certified album That Lonesome Song, the platinum-certified single “High Cost of Living,” the gold-certified song “Between Jennings and Jones” and the gold-certified single “That Lonesome Song.”

For more information and tour dates, please visit www.jameyjohnson.com. 

About Megan Moroney: 
MULTI-PLATINUM hitmaker, critically adored singer/songwriter, record-breaking headliner — just a few years after making her debut, Megan Moroney has ascended to a truly stratospheric level of stardom. Now entering a next-level era with her upcoming third studio album Cloud 9 (due out February 20), the Georgia-bred phenomenon cemented her status as a towering force in Country music with her GOLD-certified sophomore LP Am I Okay? — a 2024 release that marked the year’s third-biggest Billboard 200 debut from a female Country artist and earned raves from major publications like The New York Times and Rolling Stone (including gracing the cover of the iconic magazine’s Future of Music issue). Since the arrival of the blockbuster album (whose standouts include her 2X PLATINUM No. 1 hit “Am I Okay?” and PLATINUM-certified “No Caller ID”), the Emo Cowgirl has made history with her game-changing AM I OKAY? TOUR — a SOLD-OUT headline run that shattered attendance records at multiple venues throughout the U.S. With over 4.1 BILLION total global streams across all platforms (thanks in part to her 4X PLATINUM No. 1 hit “Tennessee Orange,” from her acclaimed 2023 debut Lucky), Moroney’s fast-growing list of accolades includes being honored as Storyteller of the Year at Variety’s 2025 Hitmakers celebration and receiving the Rulebreaker Award at the 2025 Billboard Women in Music event, in addition to winning the first-ever Best Country prize at the 2025 MTV VMAs, New Female Artist of the Year at the 2024 ACM Awards, and New Artist of the Year at the 2024 CMA Awards. With its tracklist including chart-climbing hits like “Beautiful Things” and “6 Months Later” (her highest Billboard Hot 100 debut to date), Cloud 9 will be followed by a massive international headline run featuring stops at some of the biggest arenas in North America, Europe, and the UK. 

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Media Contacts for Jamey Johnson:
Ebie McFarland | Wes Vause
Essential Broadcast Media
ebie@ebmediapr.com | wes@ebmediapr.com

Beverly Keel
beverlyjkeel@gmail.com

Media Contact for Megan Moroney:
Jensen Sussman
Sweet Talk Publicity
jensen@sweettalkpr.com