Darius Rucker is once again hosting his annual Darius and Friends concert, now in its 12th year, with proceeds benefiting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The event, which has raised more than $2 million since it began, will take place at the Ryman Auditorium on August 17, with an online option to watch as well. Artists joining Rucker will be announced in the near future.

“The incredible work being done at St. Jude really made an impact on me when I had a chance to visit and hear the patients’ stories,” Rucker says of the show. “They are some of the bravest people I’ve ever met and being able to support them with this event is always a highlight of my year. I’m so glad we’ll be back to performing in front of a full house at the Ryman for such a great cause!”

Rucker received the Randy Owen Angels Among Us Award in 2017, honoring his numerous contributions to St. Jude, which he vowed to support after his inaugural visit in 2008, with Brad Paisley and Dierks Bentley.

“I was on tour with Brad and Dierks,” Rucker recalls to Southern Living. “We were in Memphis and went down to St. Jude and really hung out there that day. We walked around and met so many of the wonderful kids and talked to the doctors and the administrators, who told us how no parent ever gets a bill. That was so amazing to me, and I just wanted to be a part of it.”

Since that time, Rucker has made it a point to not only visit St. Jude whenever he can, but also support the hospital, and the children, as much as possible.

“There are kids I see every year,” Rucker shares. “There are kids I see at shows who aren’t kids anymore. And there are parents I met when their kids were there who now work for St. Jude. That just shows what a great organization it is.”

Pre-sale tickets are available beginning on July 20, with general public tickets available on July 23, at Ticketmaster.