Return

Return to Countryville

Monday, March 30, 2009

Big Kenny Gets a Lift for Sudan

feature
Big & Rich's Kenny Alphin brings aid to the Sudan. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Nashville.

March 30, 2009 — Big Kenny has made reaching out to the people of the Sudan a major priority, and he's planning his second airlift of educational and medical supplies to the village of Akon. To help finance it, he's put together a fundraising concert in Nashville that will feature Martina McBride and Faith Hill, among others.
The trip is a huge commitment on Big Kenny's part. The war-torn Sudan is so dangerous that many who consider reaching out back away to maintain their safety. Getting the African government's permission is an accomplishment, and then comes the actual journey, including the logistics of moving several tons of materials into a remote location.
"It's a lot of work — a lot of people to [coordinate with], a lot of customs to go through," Big Kenny says. "Every one of 'em, it gets worse and worse once =0 Ayou travel outside of the United States, how their honor systems might work, or how much you're gonna have to pay somebody just to carry a camera. But it's worth it. I'm seein' lives change, and there's just nothin' cooler than that. I mean, a No. 1 song is pretty doggone good, pretty doggone good, but lookin' into the eyes of children and seein' their faces — they went crazy. So there you have it: We're goin' back, and we'll probably have to go back again. You know, this ain't the only problem on the Earth. This is just the worst one at [this] time."
Big Kenny's Nashville4Africa concert is slated for April 22 at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. In addition to Martina and Faith, he's lined up Dierks Bentley, 3 Doors Down vocalist Brad Arnold, Christian singer Ashley Cleveland, the African Children's Choir and Damien Horne, a Music City musician who accompanied Big Kenny on his first trip to the Sudan. Tickets go on sale Monday. For more information, visit www.bigkenny.tv.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Return

Return to Countryville