Tickets On Sale This Friday, May 1 at 10 a.m. CTvia AXS.com

Darius and Friends 2026

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Multi-time Diamond-certified superstar Darius Rucker returns to the historic Ryman Auditorium on Monday, June 1 for his 17th annual “Darius and Friends” concert benefitting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®.

The event, which unofficially kicks off the week of CMA Fest in downtown Nashville and has raised more than $5.1 million to date, will feature a surprise all-star roster of friends as has become tradition at the annual celebration.

Rucker, who has always prioritized philanthropic work throughout his career, made a commitment to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital nearly two decades ago after taking an inspiring tour of the hospital in 2008. Through this meaningful experience, Rucker learned how St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

Rucker’s effort has since become an annual tradition, with the Tennessean celebrating last year’s show as “a night of old favorites and new music delivered by both seasoned and fresh faces from the music industry.”

Friends performing with Rucker in past years have included Lauren Alaina, Jason Aldean, Brooks & Dunn, Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Sheryl Crow, Dan + Shay, Vince Gill, Jamey Johnson, Jelly Roll, Charles Kelley of Lady A, Ashley McBryde, A.J. McLean of the Backstreet Boys, Megan Moroney, Brad Paisley, Kenny Rogers, Tommy Thayer of KISS and Morgan Wallen, among many others.

Tickets to the 17th annual “Darius and Friends” benefit concert start at $69 with VIP package options up to $249 via AXS.com. Pre-sale access begins this Wednesday, April 29 at 10 a.m. CT, with tickets on sale to the public this Friday, May 1 at 10 a.m. CT. The event is made possible with support from generous sponsors AMD and The Law Office of Jennifer McCoy.

For more information, visit DariusRucker.com and follow on social media @DariusRucker.

About Darius Rucker
Rucker first achieved multi-Platinum status in the music industry as lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the GRAMMY Award-winning band Hootie & the Blowfish, who have sold more than 25 million albums worldwide including their Double Diamond-certified (22x Platinum) debut Cracked Rear View, which remains among the top 10 best-selling studio albums of all time. Since releasing his first Country album in 2008, Rucker has earned a whole new legion of fans with four No. 1 albums on the Billboard Country chart plus 10 No. 1 singles at Country radio and 11 Gold, Platinum or multi-Platinum certified hits. Rucker was inducted as a Grand Ole Opry member in 2012 and he won his third career GRAMMY Award in 2014 for Best Solo Country Performance with his Diamond-certified (11x Platinum) version of “Wagon Wheel,” one of the top five best-selling Country songs of all time. His latest album Carolyn’s Boy (featuring recent single “Never Been Over” with Jennifer Nettles) is available everywhere now as is his New York Times bestselling memoir “Life’s Too Short,” released via Dey Street in 2024.

As a lifelong philanthropist, Rucker co-chaired the capital campaign that generated $150 million to help build the new MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital in his hometown of Charleston, S.C. and has raised over $4.3 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through his annual Darius and Friends benefit concert and golf tournament. In addition, Rucker has advocated for over 200 charitable causes supporting public education and junior golf programs in South Carolina through the Hootie & the Blowfish Foundation and serves as a National Chair for the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville, Tenn. Rucker is also an avid sports fan, with his Darius Rucker Collection by Fanatics line of NFL, MLB, NHL, NCAA and WWE apparel available via Fanatics.com, and he is part of the Music City Baseball investment group working to bring an MLB team to Tennessee in addition to serving as a partner at the MGC Sports & Entertainment agency.

About St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Its purpose is clear: Finding cures. Saving children.® It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. When St. Jude opened in 1962, childhood cancer was largely considered incurable. Since then, St. Jude has helped push the overall survival rate from 20% to more than 80%, and it won’t stop until no child dies from cancer. St. Jude shares the breakthroughs it makes to help doctors and researchers at local hospitals and cancer centers around the world improve the quality of treatment and care for even more children. Because of generous donors, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food, so they can focus on helping their child live. Visit St. Jude Inspire to discover powerful St. Jude stories of hope, strength, love and kindness. Support the St. Jude mission by donating at stjude.org, liking St. Jude on Facebook, following St. Jude on TwitterInstagramLinkedIn and TikTok, and subscribing to its YouTube channel.

###

Leave a comment

Trending