Incredible.
On Tuesday night, Ernest hosted an evening of music titled Stars For Second Harvest 2026 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, where a sold-out crowd heard from Ern, of course, as he did a writer’s round on stage with fellow hitmakers Hardy, Lee Thomas Miller, and Dean Dillon.
Superstar Ella Langley headlined the evening, performing acoustic, stripped-back renditions of songs from her massive sophomore album Dandelion, and she and Ernest teamed up to perform their co-write “Loving Life Again” too.
It looked like a spectacular night, and it was all for an amazing cause, as the proceeds from the benefit show went to Second Harvest Food Bank, and the raised a whopping $445,000 in total, which will surely do a ton of good for the greater Nashville area.
Ernest says he’s “incredibly grateful” for the success of the event over the last several years, and he’s looking forward to continuing it in the future:
“I’m incredibly grateful for the way this event has grown and evolved, even just over the last few years. It’s one of my favorite nights of every year that really captures the heart of our songwriting community. Thank you to Ella, HARDY, Lee, Dean, and everyone who made this night possible – we’ll see you next year.”
The event was first started by Big Loud Records co-founder Craig Wiseman, but he passed the torch, so to speak, to Ernest a few years ago, and since then, Ernest has raised a very impressive over $1.18 MILLION for Second Harvest through the annual writer’s round and performance event alone.
It’s great to see so many very popular country artists and writers use their platform to do good like this, and it’s truly an incredible event.
Ernest also recently released his beachy, Jimmy Buffett-inspired album Deep Blue. It will make you feel like you’re sitting on an ocean somewhere, the perfect soundtrack if you’re heading to find blue water this summer, and there’s so much variety on the tracklist, from high-energy heartbreakers like “Lorelei” and “Boat Named After You,” as well as some more classic offerings that harken back to Willie Nelson on “Lucky” and “If I’m Not Careful” and other rock-solid, breezy tracks like “Edge Of The U.S.A.” and “Somewhere In The Caribbean.”
Ernest himself says it’s his “personal favorite” record he’s put out yet:
“DEEP BLUE is out now and I must say, it’s my personal favorite album yet. It wouldn’t exist without my love and affinity for the islands. (Shoutout ST THOMAS/ ST JOHN) .
This album is a dissociative for some, one that will pull you straight from your reality and land you right smack dab in the middle of the ocean, floating and drifting away. It might sit u down on that favorite beach of yours in your mind. Hell, it could land you at that beach bar you went to ONE time and have never stopped thinking about it. It might take a sunny day and turn it in to a much needed Rainey afternoon. Who knows… what I do know is that the album is yours …. it’s been mine for long enough….
Thank you to all the songwriters who helped create this world with me. I also wanna say thank you to my brother Jacob Durrett for trusting me to go in and produce an album together. We have worked together for years and it was fun finally going in and doing the damn thing for real. Anyways- I’m gonna be sunburnt or tan for the foreseeable future.”
If you haven’t checked it out yet, you definitely should, and I’ll leave some of my favorites below.
“Time Is A Thief”
“Boat Named After You”
“Lorelei”
