KYLE MURPHYStaff Writer

Country music star and Tullahoma native Dustin Lynch, joined by his friends, took to the stage at Tullahoma High School to present the 8^th annual “Dustin Lynch and Friends” benefit concert, where they raised $39,000 for local children’s charities.

The annual concert took place Tuesday, Dec. 12, in a packed house at the Tullahoma High School auditorium where Lynch, joined by Nashville based songwriters Lanie Gardner, Brent Anderson and Randy Montana, hit the stage to perform a variety of songs from their respective catalogs. Prior to the show, Lynch met with over 300 fans during his meet and greet, which was the largest one for the benefit concert to date. Lynch also said during the show that they had the most sponsors for the show this year as well during the show.

“By a mile, it was such a joy and honor to be in the library and meeting every single one of you guys,” Lynch said. “That was a lot of fun.”

In between songs, Lynch, Anderson, Gardner and Montana shared stories about the origins of songs, the writing process, artists they’ve gotten to work with and joking with each other as they engaged with the crowd. Some of the songs performed during show included songs “Chevrolet” and “Blue Lights” from Lynch’s latest release “Killed the Cowboy” and a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” by Gardner.

Midway through the show, Lynch presented the check donations for this year’s charities. This year’s recipients were Haven of Hope, South Jackson Performing Arts Center and Special Olympics. All the organizations received $13,000 each, adding up to $39,000. Representatives from each organization and thanked both Lynch and the audience for their time and donations. Before presenting the checks, Lynch told the audience that they keep a track list of every organization that they have helped or has asked for help.

“It’s so cool that each year so many charities have reached out and said ‘Hey, we would like throw our name in the hat,’ and this year we had a good bit of them do that,” Lynch said. 

Haven of Hope is a nonprofit organization that helps to provide emergency and community-based support to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. According to Lynch, Haven of Hope had field 4,950 calls thus far in 2023.

The next organization was South Jackson Performing Arts Center. Lynch said he was proud to shine a light on South Jackson’s TEACH and PACT programs, which provides opportunities for students to perform on stage.

The last organization presented with a check of $13,000 was Special Olympics. Lynch said the donation will go towards helping out with uniforms, trophies and travel to the state level of competition.

The concert also benefitted the Tullahoma Fire Department, as every person who attended brought in a new, unwrapped toy to contribute to the department’s annual toy drive, which included Lynch bringing a sack of toys for the toy drive prior to the show.

After playing several more songs, Lynch finished the set with his single “Thinking ‘Bout You,” featuring MacKenzie Porter from his 2022 album “Blue in the Sky,” which was 2022’s Most Played Country Song. Though Porter was not at the show, Lynch asked the ladies in the crowd to help him sing along, which he was reciprocated.

Just before performing the last song, Lynch thanked everyone, from everyone on stage and behind the scenes to the audience attendees, for helping give back to charities. He said loved doing the show each year as it kick starts the season for him by giving back to help residents in need, while he took a moment to wipe away a few tears. He said as long as they want, he will continue to come back each year, which he said the plans for next year are underway.