Each year, Nov. 11 is a reminder to honor and commemorate the brave military men and women who have served America. While there are many ways to commend veterans, music is one inspiring path for honoring these heroes. Indeed, Eric Byford co-founded the Music City Cares Veterans Day Benefit Show to bring everyone together for such tributes and to show appreciation.
The 4th Annual Music City Cares Veterans Day show will take place on Veterans Day and will honor three veterans with “Gratitude of Service” Awards.
The first Music City Cares Veterans Day Benefit Show was launched in 2018 with nine artists. This year, the event has grown to 15 artists and will take place at the Texas Troubadour Nashville.
“I knew then I wanted to make Nashville the example to the rest of the world how we honor our veterans with what we do best, live music,” Eric says.
Eric, who is now the event producer, started this event to honor his grandfather, Thomas Smith, (aka Grandbuddy) who not only fought in WWII but also served the country in Korea and Vietnam. His grandfather never told a soul about what he did whilst serving, and to this day Eric does not know.
“His honor to never tell and stay true to his oath is why I chose to start this event. I want to honor all of the men and women who have served this country simply because without them our rights, freedoms, and country don’t exist,” Eric says.
His goal is to grow this event until Nashville is the epicenter of Veteran’s Day and is able to raise as enough awareness and support for all veterans as possible.
Tickets range from $30-$75 each. It is slated to be hosted by Cowboy Calvin
Eventbrite.com/e/music-city-cares-veterans-day-benefit-tickets-718247376237