Back row (l-r): Martina McBride, Brett Eldredge, Laura Heatherly (CEO, T.J. Martell Foundation), Chris Young, Susannah Herring, Kacey Musgraves, Senator Bill Frist, John Oates, Train's Jimmy Stafford, Nancy Hearn; Front row (l-r): Clare Bowen, Co-chair Bill Hearn (President, EMI Christian Music Group), Co-chair John Esposito (President & CEO, Warner Music Nashville), Chef Michael Kornick, Co-chair Tom Black, Founder Billy Ray Hearn (Founder, EMI Christian Music Group)
Amy Grant, Big Kenny of Big & Rich, Brett Eldredge, Chris Young, Clare Bowen from the TV series Nashville, John Oates, Kacey Musgraves, Kix Brooks, Little Big Town’s Jimi Westbrook and Karen Fairchild, Martina McBride and Reba McEntire were all guests at the annual dinner held at the Omni Hotel in downtown Nashville on Monday. They all enjoyed an elegant, four-course meal prepared by world-renowned chef, Michael Kornick of mk The Restaurant in Chicago. The wine, provided by Best Cellars (some of the top wine collectors in the United States who shared rare wines from their collections with guests at their tables) was specifically selected for each course.
All proceeds from the dinner went to the T.J. Martell Foundation, a national organization supporting leukemia, AIDS and cancer research. This event supported life-saving cancer research at the Frances Williams Preston Labs at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. For Brett Eldredge, cancer research is a cause near and dear to his heart as he lost a friend to bone cancer not long ago. He told Country Weekly, "I love the T.J. Martell Foundation and I love what they stand for. Any time I hear about a T.J. Martell event, I’ll help out any way I can."
Chris Young was a first time attendee, but he shared that he knows his way around the winery, saying, "I am a really big red wine guy. I don’t know my white wines as well, but I have the feeling that these wine experts will show me around a little bit."
