Martina McBride & Friends Host Cancer Benefit Concert For Sarah Cannon At The Grand Ole Opry

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Every night at the Grand Ole Opry is a special night but last night was an extra special night for both performers and guests.  Opry member Martina McBride and several of her friends came together to host the finale show of Band Against Cancer: the Sarah Cannon Tour; a benefit concert to raise money and awareness for the Sarah Cannon cancer Institute of HCA.  The 5 stop tour also included Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Denver.

At first mention the name Sarah Cannon probably doesn’t ring a bell for many people but almost everybody should recognize her stage name, Minnie Pearl.  After a battle with breast cancer which resulted in a double mastectomy, cancer survivor Sarah Cannon became a spokeswoman for the Nashville center she was treated at.  The center would later be named Sarah Cannon in her honor.  The show was held the day after what would have been Cannon’s 104th birthday but she died in 1996 due to complications after a stroke.

img_0246The goal of the Sarah Cannon institute is to provide close to home research and support for those fighting the disease.  Approximately every three minutes somebody is diagnosed with blood cancer and over 14,000 people yearly require a bone marrow transplant from a non-family member; which is often their only hope for survival.  More information about the Sarah Cannon institute can be found at sarahcannon.com.

Martina’s new single “Just Around the Corner”, a song off her latest album Reckless has been the inspirational anthem for the Band Against Cancer tour.  The show which aired live on 650 AM WSM radio featured short performances by John Conlee, The Cadillac Three, Cassadee Pope, Scotty McCreery, Charles Esten and Little Big Town before Martina finished out with a longer set.  Many artists shared their personal stories- good and bad about their experiences with cancer.  A few survivor stories were also shared and in-house survivors were honored.  The audio for the show is available for replay on bandagainstcancer.com.  You can also find more information on how to help on their site.

Find more information about Martina’s new album featuring “Just Around the Corner” on her webpage at martinamcbride.com.

Also, follow her and all the other talented artists who performed at this very special Opry event on the usual social media outlets- Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Written by Josie Bisto

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