Never forget where you came from.
This weekend, Kentucky native Chris Stapleton had the honor of playing the first ever concert at Kroger Field on the campus of the University of Kentucky – and it was for a good cause.
A Concert for Kentucky was a benefit show with all proceeds going to Chris and Morgane’s Outlaw State of Kind Hometown Fund, established to support local and national organizations that benefit his home state. The fund’s initial grant distributions focused on music and arts education.
Originally scheduled for 2020, the show was pushed back over the last two years due to COVID, but this weekend Stapleton finally rolled into his home state for a one-of-a-kind show that also featured special guests Willie Nelson and Sheryl Crow.
And there were quite a few special guests in the crowd, too.
Chris had a big gift for the senior class of his alma mater, Johnson Central High School in Paintsville, Kentucky, paying for the entire class of 2022 to attend the show. And according to Johnson Central principal Justin Arms, he even covered the transportation:
“He’s covering all expenses, which includes the cost of the ticket as well as transportation. It’s just a huge, generous gesture on his behalf.”
And the students were pumped to take advantage of the generous gift from one of their own:
“It was within 30 minutes that we had over half of our senior class had signed up for that and then I opened it up for chaperones and I really think that may be one of the fastest response times, too, for some of our faculty and staff to volunteer.
Again, we’re just celebrating the accomplishments and we’re so thankful that he’s thought about us.”
For a class that’s had so much of their high school experience disrupted over the past couple of years due to COVID, it was a pretty cool senior trip to celebrate with their classmates – with one graduate even saying that he was looking forward to the show more than his graduation:
Chris Stapleton Adds New Dates To His 2022 ‘All American Road Show Tour’
You gotta love Chris Stapleton’s “All American Road Show.”
The tour allows fans to not only enjoy the jaw dropping live shows Chris Stapleton puts on year in and year out, but he also brings along some of the best talent the music industry has to offer, whether they’re up-and-coming artists, or been in the industry for years and years.
Earlier this year, Stapleton announced Dwight Yoakam, Elle King, The Highwomen, Madeline Edwards, Margo Price, Marty Stuart, Mavis Staples, Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs, Morgan Wade, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Sheryl Crow, and Willie Nelson & Friends, would all be joining him at some point for this year’s tour.
With that being said, the man has already seen a number of sellouts, and has announced five additional dates to the tour.
The first is in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on July 14, the second is in Orange Beach, Alabama on July 15, the following two in Gilford, New Hampshire on August 4-5, and the last on October 28 in Houston, Texas.
Check it out:
Of course, Chris also recently took home three Grammy awards, winning Best Country Solo Performance for “You Should Probably Leave,” Best Country Song for “Cold,” and Best Country Album for Starting Over.
He also performed “Cold” on the Grammy stage.
