Stapleton provides free concert tickets to JCHS seniors
By TONY FYFFE
BSN Editor
PAINTSVILLE – Members of the Johnson Central High School Class of 2022 were treated to a free concert by a JCHS alumnus who also happens to be a country music superstar.
Chris Stapleton provided free tickets to JCHS seniors to attend his “A Concert for Kentucky” Saturday at the University of Kentucky’s Kroger Field in Lexington.
Five buses transported the seniors to the concert, which also featured performances by Willie Nelson and Sheryl Crow, and they returned home following the show.
“Chris Stapleton blessed our seniors with one of the best concerts that they will probably ever attend,” the JCHS News/Events Facebook said in a post Sunday morning. “Not only did he provide all of the tickets but also the transportation costs. Additionally, three separate ladies in our community generously donated a combined $550 cash to meet any food needs our kids had while on the trip. It is absolutely heartwarming how much support and generosity has been extended to our children. They had the best time today thanks to everyone who made this trip possible for them.”
Five buses of happy kids are loaded up and headed back home. Thank you, Mr. Stapleton.
Saturday’s “A Concert for Kentucky” stadium show raised over $1 million dollars for the Outlaw State of Kind Hometown Fund, according to a press release on Stapleton’s website.
An arm of Chris and Morgane Stapleton’s Outlaw State of Kind charitable fund, the Hometown Fund is administered by the Blue Grass Community Foundation and supports a variety of causes close to the couple’s heart in Chris’ home state of Kentucky. Initial Hometown Fund grants include $250,000 to The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation as well as additional pledges to the American Red Cross, UK Healthcare Kentucky Children’s Hospital, the Community Foundation of Western Kentucky’s Disaster Relief Fund, and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Additional Hometown Fund grants will continue to be made throughout the year.
“Every night we walk on a stage, we do our best to help people forget their troubles or celebrate or remember or hope or heal,” Stapleton said in the press release. “Every night we play, a portion of those profits always goes to charity. As a musician I can’t think of a greater honor than reaching a point where we can play a show for 40,000 people and give all of the profits back to a community that has been so unfailingly loyal and supportive. It is a tremendously pure and rewarding moment to get to provide the medicine that is music in that space. I’m grateful to everyone who came to the show and to all of the musicians, managers, agents and crew members that made this moment possible.”
A 1996 graduate of JCHS, Stapleton was born in Lexington and raised in Staffordsville in Johnson County. He is a 1996 JCHS graduate.
He will continue his “All-American Road Show” tour throughout the year. The tour celebrates Stapleton’s acclaimed album “Starting Over,” which recently won three Grammy awards for Best Country Album, Best Country Solo Performance (“You Should Probably Leave”) and Best Country Song (“Cold”).