Clockwise from top left: Kenny Loggins performed during the week-long fundraising event. Photo by Cayce Joyce
Martell, VICC celebrate decade of Country in the Rockies
Country music legend Charlie Daniels joined the festivities. Photo by Alan Mayor
Former Board of Trust member Peggy Wood, Dr. Harold L. Moses and Dr. Raymond N. DuBois check out a Harley-Davidson that was raffled off at Country in the Rockies. Dr. C. Wright Pinson wonthe motorcycle and gave it to his brother, Lex. Photo by Alan Mayor.
Singer Paul Overstreet and Heidi Newfield of Trick Pony (center) perform with Soul Incision band members Norman B. Urmy, Bryan S. Brand (background, left to right) and Carol Byrd. Photo by Lex Pinson.
CRESTED BUTTE, Colo. — Country in the Rockies X lived up to its billing as “The Ultimate Backstage Pass,” bringing legendary artists like Mel Tillis, Charlie Daniels and Kenny Loggins together with a new generation of singers and songwriters to make music and raise money for cancer research.
A record-setting crowd of nearly 400 people gathered here for the 10th anniversary of the signature fund-raising event for the T.J. Martell Foundation for Cancer, Leukemia and AIDS Research. The event directly supports the Foundation’s Frances Williams Preston Laboratories at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.
Ski races, outdoor activities like snowshoeing and sleigh rides, all-star concerts, informal late-night guitar pulls, a Celebrity Happy Hour fund-raising competition and much more gave participants entertainment options virtually around-the-clock. However, the cause behind the event was never far from mind.
“One in two of us in this room will face cancer in our lifetimes, so this is really important,” Gary Chapman said, coaxing members of the audience to fill a passing pitcher with cash during the Celebrity Happy Hour.
Teams of artists work hard to raise the most money in a two-hour period; this year, they brought in more than $200,000 in exchange for singing favorite songs, signing autographs, posing for photos and fulfilling other special requests.
Coverage from the event is expected to begin airing on Country Music Television on Sunday, Feb. 8, and on Great American Country’s “Country Across America” on Feb. 10.
Country in the Rockies (CITR) kicked off Tuesday, Jan. 27, with an opening guitar pull featuring Gary Morris, Chuck Cannon, Lari White, Suzy Bogguss, Mandy Barnett, Jessi Alexander and Jon Randall. The following night, Paul Overstreet, Kathy Mattea, Trick Pony, Mel Tillis and his band The Statesiders continued the music in the Club Med Theater.
The all-star finale on Jan. 31 featured Lorrie Morgan, Kenny Loggins and Robert Earl Keen. Other participating artists were: Deborah Allen, BlackHawk, Doug Crider, Dean Dillon, Bob DiPiero, Kelly Donovan, Will Rambeaux, Tim Rushlow. Anthony Smith and BMI Country Songwriter of the Year Jeffrey Steele.
Earning the nickname “The King of Crested Butte,” Aaron Barker returned for another year of hosting late-night guitar pulls and led a large group of artists in taking the music off the mountain and into the historic mining town of Crested Butte, where they performed concerts especially for the locals to thank them for their hospitality. “
We look forward to this every year,” 24-year Crested Butte resident Joe Snyder said. “The music is fabulous, and we are so grateful for the work that this event supports,” he continued, noting that his wife, Brenda, is a two-year survivor of ovarian cancer.
In addition to a record-setting total number of participants, the event also drew a record 182 first-time guests. Suzy Bogguss, a veteran of six CITRs, said she was especially pleased to see so many new faces. “The camaraderie of this event and getting to know people from different worlds is what makes this event so special and so unique,” she said.
Among the other highlights of CITR X:
— Barker’s wife Theresa organized silent and live auctions of artwork, guitars and other instruments, jewelry, clothing, sports and celebrity memorabilia, and trips. Among the auction tidbits: a special CITR-edition Yamaha guitar was claimed for $4,000 by a Crested Butte resident on the eve of his wedding. (An online component of the auction will be open through Feb. 16 – check it out at www.citr.org.)
— Mel Tillis shared funny stories with guests and fellow artists throughout the week, and even took up a new assignment as roving television reporter for Great American County, recording the festivities during Celebrity Happy Hour.
— Several of the artists jammed with VUMC’s own Soul Incision, including Charlie Daniels. Daniels, who headlined one of the concerts at CITR 7, was diagnosed with prostate cancer the following year and received his treatment at Vanderbilt-Ingram. Before Friday night’s live auction, he shared inspirational words about his experience as a survivor and thanked everyone for their support of cancer research.
More than two dozen people from Vanderbilt were on hand to meet with supporters and share information about how money raised through Country in the Rockies is put to use in Nashville.
“We are so grateful for the support we receive from everyone who has participated in Country in the Rockies over the years,” said Dr. Hal Moses, director of Vanderbilt-Ingram and the Preston Laboratories. “I’m looking forward to all the fun we’re going to have and the progress we are going to make together over the next 10 years.”
In addition to the ever-expanding list of guests and participating artists, the number of sponsors of the event grows each year as well. This year, sponsors included BMI, Club Med, CMT, Coca-Cola, Ortho-Biotech, the Smith-Free Group, AmSouth, Bank of America, Yamaha, Baldwin, Gibson, Gurly & Co, the Gary Group, American Airlines, Fischer, Leki, Cowboys & Indians, Dasani, Jack Daniel’s, Hall Booth Smith & Slover, Travis Television, Icue Productions, Audio Visual Projection Services, and Country Music Across America.