Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley, Martina McBride,
Kelly Pickler, Sheryl Crow and Other Nashville Luminaries
Proclaim “Water Can’t Wash Us Away” on GAC Flood Relief
Telethon; Nearly $2 Million Raised . . . and Counting
It was a night of tears, joy, hope, humor, inspiration, Tennessee pride and great
entertainment as members of the Nashville community—some stars, some corporate
leaders, some first responders and all just people holding out a helping hand—joined
forces at the historic Ryman Auditorium to raise money during the nationally televised
GAC Music City Keep On Playin’ Flood Relief Telethon last night. The event is the latest
in an amazing effort by Tennesseans to bounce back from the “thousand-year flood” that
devastated middle Tennessee on May 1 and 2. With an estimated $1.5 billion in damages,
the floodwaters washed away businesses, homes, vehicles, roads, schools, landmarks and,
most important of all, more than two dozen lives. But, true to their Tennessee Volunteer
spirit, the people of Nashville and surrounding areas are doing all they can to help
themselves and their neighbors, while asking friends from throughout America to lend a
hand as they are able. Hosted by Kimberly Williams-Paisley and James Denton, the
show’s first performer was Kim’s husband, Brad Paisley, who kicked off the night with
his hit “Welcome to the Future,” before proclaiming “the future starts tonight Nashville!”
He then appeared to surprise Kim by asking if she’d be okay with the couple donating
$100,000 to get the ball rolling on donations. Actually, audience members had already
put $44,000 in the till with their ticket purchases. And the giving never slowed
throughout the three-hour event, with the celebrity phone bank often so busy that callers
had to try multiple times to get through in order to make a pledge. And what a group of
celebrity phone answerers it was: Lady Antebellum, Sheryl Crow, Brad, Keith Urban,
Dierks Bentley, Nicole Kidman, Joey + Rory, James Otto, Billy Dean, Julie Roberts,
Whitney Duncan, Holly Williams and others. And the performances on stage were
uniformly excellent. From Lady Antebellum’s gorgeous piano version of “Need You
Now” and Martina McBride’s powerful “Do It Anyway,” to Keith Urban’s rendition of
the Beatles’ “Help,”CeCe Winans uplifting “He’s Concerned” and Dierks’ “You Hold
Me Together.” Sheryl, who’s lived in the Nashville are for about 5 years, declared “My
heart goes out to everybody who’s suffering at this time” before announcing, “This is a
new song . . . so it may be awful!” No worries, Sheryl, the gorgeous piano/vocal was a
show highlight. But, while the musical numbers were unforgettable, it was the footage of
heroic water rescues, devastated neighborhoods and, especially, spiritually strong
Tennesseans that left an indelible mark on viewers. One recent immigrant who had
worked hard to build a life for his family in Nashville, only to see his home and
belongings destroyed, proclaimed simply, “I have to fix it myself,” embodying the true
American spirit. And as Nashville native James Denton said to wild applause near the
show’s conclusion, “We’re not asking for a bailout . . . we’ve been bailing for two
weeks.” There’s that Tennessee spirit again. By night’s end, nearly $2 million dollars had
been raised for the cause. And the closing performance of “Washed By the Water,” by
Will Hoge could not have been more perfect as he soulfully and truthfully sang, “water
can’t wash us away.”—David Scarlett
“I have to fix it myself”…..an immigrant….who’s truly embraced the American Spirit
James Denton
Will Hoge….”Washed By the Water” . . . water can’t wash us away…..great closing
number…perfect…..We Are Nashville
Pat and Gina Neeley….
Whitney Duncan…Dailey & Vincent . . .
Holly Williams
Bomshel
1.5 billion in damage….dozens of people lost their lives
Kimberly Williams-Paisley….co-host
GACTV.com/HELP
$100,000 from Scripps
Brad…”Welcome to the Future” . . . Brad and Kim donated $100,000 to get it going . . .
Lady A….”I Need You Now”….gorgeous piano version
Dierks Bentley and Sam Bush . . . “
Martina McBride . . . “Do it Anyway”
Adam Richman ….Man verses Food
Keith Urban…..”Help”….Beatles
“Serious flooding in my hometown of Brisbane. I want to make sure that you know we
love everything you’ve done so far and appreciate it immensely. We keep an optimistic
spirit her in middle Tennessee.” As he jumped into “Better Life”
“You guys are the best…thank you so much, Nashville. God bless you.”
Brad Paisley’s dad, Doug….”Martina McBride”….Lorrie Morgan….taking calls…James
Otto…Pat Neely (The Neelys) . . . Billy Dean…..Keith Urban . . . Rory and Joey . . .
Nicole Kidman….
Tony Stewart . . . Clint Bowyer….
CeCe Winans…..”He’s Concerned”
Mike Helton President of NASCAR
CFMT…..the size of the state of New Jersey…..this disaster is epic…. (community
foundation of middle Tennessee)
Jeff Arnett…..Master Distiller/Jack Daniel’s Distillery…..$100,000
Samantha Brown….The Travel Channel….
877-768-6274
People’s lives are on the street….in their yards…
Rodney Atkins . . . “These are My People”
Nan Kelley . . .
James Denton…co-host
Sheryl Crow….Nashvillian….
Find Someone You love…..hold them so close it’s not close enough….Stop…stop the
world spinning…..
Reading the lyrics…..as she sang at the piano……
Kelly Pickler . .. . A happy song….”Makin’ Me Fall In Love Again”
Titans Players….Marcus Robertson . . . Derrick Morgan from Ga. Tech…..
Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks…..from the road…..Brad, and Lady A….
ACM . . . .lifting lives $250,000 . . .
“River in the Rain”….Brad Paisley…..written by Roger Miller….Obviously, I like Huck
Finn, too
Jaqi Velasquez . . . “On My Knees” . . .
Suzanne Alexander….
Lady Antebellum….”I Run to You”
Scott Borchetta……Big Machine . . . $100,000 . . .
Randy Montana . . .
Keith Urban, Martina McBride and Keb’ Mo’ have been added to the list of performers
for Music City Keep on Playin’ - A Benefit for Flood Relief, the first national live
concert and telethon to aid middle Tennesseans affected by the recent flood disaster. The
concert and telethon will be aired live and commercial-free from Nashville’s Ryman
Auditorium this Sunday, May 16, 8:00 – 11:00 p.m. Eastern (live in all time zones) on
Great American Country Television (GAC) and will re-air at 11:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m.
You’ll also be able to watch the concert streaming live online at GACTV.com. The event
will also be carried live on Sirius/XM satellite radio.
Due to overwhelming support from the Nashville music community, a third hour has
been added to the live telecast.
Artists previously announced to perform include Brad Paisley, Lady Antebellum, Dierks
Bentley, Kellie Pickler, Rodney Atkins, CeCe Winans, Jaci Velasquez, Randy Montana
and Will Hoge.
Hosts for the event are TV star and Nashville native James Denton (“Desperate
Housewives) and middle Tennessee resident, movie and TV star Kimberly Williams
Paisley. Joining them will be GAC on-air personalities Suzanne Alexander, Nan Kelley,
Storme Warren and Bill Cody as well as Food Network’s Pat and Gina Neely (“Down
Home with the Neelys”) and the Travel Channel’s Adam Richman (“Man v. Food”) and
Samantha Brown (“Great Weekends”).
All money raised will go to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, the
organization processing and distributing the donations to middle Tennesseans in need.
This event is being presented by GAC, the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau and
Gaylord Entertainment.
Dierks Bentley . . . “You hold me together”…..
Vern Yip….HGTV . . .
Brad…”Another American Saturday Night” . . .
Kenny Chesney
Marty Raybon
Keb Mo
Julie Roberts….My car was floating away…Mama and my sister and my four dogs…