For most of us, finding out that your child has cancer is just a nightmare we will never have to face. But for actor and musician Charles Esten and his wife, Patty, it was a reality.
Charles, with his incessant smile and warm, we’ve-been-friends-for-years demeaner, gives no clue that just over 20 years ago, his youngest daughter Addie survived leukemia and their family took their first step out of inconceivable darkness and into the light.
“When you first get through that, you just want to put your head down and get as far from it as you can,” he reflects. “When we came [to Nashville ten years ago], it had been just enough time and it had been on our minds how much we owed The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) and owed everyone that ever contributed, fundraised, or did research.”
It was that gratitude that fueled the couple’s participation in LLS’s annual Light the Night Walk and, for the past nine years, the Light the Late Night concert that follows. For its part, the concert, born out of a burst of love for the organization paired with Charles’s network of Nashville friends and common sense (the large number of people already gathered for an event that ends relatively early in the evening), has been a huge additional fund-raising success since its inception and remains a keystone of the family’s campaign.
“I feel really fortunate that we get to do this,” says Charles. “And I should say we – capital WE – with the largest share of the word going to my wife, Patty. Who really makes things happen and makes it all possible.”
This year, the first Light the Morning benefit brunch was added to the events. Held at The 404 Kitchen with Chef Matt Bolus at the helm, the intimate setting provided an opportunity for Charles to share more stories, sing more songs, and further spread the word about the important work of LLS. “I [felt] like everybody’s there, they’re eating somewhere, why not do it together?” Charles smiles. “It’s just more gratitude for Nashville giving back to us… The culture of kindness in this town is, I think, my favorite part about it. So, I don’t think I’ll ever catch up because every time I try to give something back, two people give to us… A lot of what we do now is [because] I owe Nashville a terrible debt. Not just the show but the city.”
Undeniably, Charles’ popularity as Deacon on the all-too-aptly named hit show Nashville, contributes to the success of his fundraising each year. And the power of these fans, or “Nashies,” as they’re called, isn’t lost on their family. “The strength of Team Addie – my daughter Addie would be the first person to say it’s not her. And we’d be the first to say it’s not us. It’s them. If they go away, Team Addie goes away. And not just the “Nashies,” but the incredible people from all over.”
Charles is currently working on another labor of love - his first full-length album, set to release sometime in 2023. It’s a surprising thing to say “his first,” since he’s released music for quite some time now, even landing himself a Guinness World Record for Most Consecutive Weeks to Release a Digital Single – topping out at 54. “I’ve always felt like I’ve been making up for lost time,” he says. “I didn’t get [to Nashville] until I was older, so I’ve been trying to get those 10,000 hours that everyone talks about. Also, I never knew how long I was going to get to stay, so I never wanted to look back and go, ‘I didn’t make the most of that opportunity.’”
Making the most of an opportunity is truly something Charles does best; In all things, but especially with LLS. “It was a pivotal moment in our lives, standing on a bridge over the Cumberland with 5-6,000 people, everyone with their different color balloons held high, and fireworks going off in the sky. We felt a million miles from where we first got the diagnosis for Addie; when we were just us. We had so many friends and family come alongside of us (and very quickly) but in that moment you feel very alone, and it feels very dark. The journey from that hospital room to that bridge and to all that Nashville brought with it as well, you can’t even really put it in to words. I think that cemented the place that the Leukemia Lymphoma Society has in our hearts right there. Not only did they help our daughter, but we could see the incredible work they were still doing … I think it’s exquisite.”
And just as their family’s experience through cancer has intertwined itself with everything in their lives, the lifting of light as Light the Night does has become intertwined in Charles’s music as well. “There’s a song that I wrote [for] Deacon in Nashville called Looking for the Light. The concept is that you’re going to go through dark times, but don’t stop looking for the light. To be part of this organization, that’s what it’s literally about.
In hindsight - it’s perfect.”
“It’s just more gratitude for Nashville giving back to us… The culture of kindness in this town is, I think, my favorite part about it. So, I don’t think I’ll ever catch up because every time I try to give something back, two people give to us… A lot of what we do now is [because] I owe Nashville a terrible debt. Not just the show but the city.”