Charlie Daniels, Luke Bryan, others perform for Yellow Ribbon Program benefit concert

Charlie Daniels, Luke Bryan, others perform for Yellow Ribbon Program benefit concert

Although Tuesday began with the chill of unexpected snow flurries, it ended with Charlie Daniels and a group of his high-profile musician friends heating up Allen Arena. The fifth annual Copperweld Charlie Daniels’ Scholarship for Heroes concert — the first installment of which was held in spring 2010 — raises funds for Lipscomb University’s Yellow Ribbon Enhancement Program. The program allows post-9/11 military veterans, as well as their family members, to pursue undergraduate or graduate degrees from Lipscomb, either tuition-free or at greatly reduced costs. All proceeds from the concert go towards the scholarships of the more than 200 Yellow Ribbon students at Lipscomb. “War was very real to me,” Daniels said, “I realized that only two things protect America, and that’s the grace of God and the United States military. It’s that way then, it’s that way now, and as long as there’s an America, when these folks go and lay their lives on the line for us and come back, we owe them.  I don’t view [the concert] as something glorious that I do, I view it as it is my duty.” Lipscomb students, Nashville music fans and a flurry of other folks poured into Allen Arena to see Daniels and his band, Kellie Pickler, Clint Black, The Grascals, Lee Greenwood, the U.S. Navy Band Sea Chanters and the American Hitmen. The host for the night was Music City broadcast personality Storme Warren, described as the “Dick Clark of Nashville” in a profile by The Tennessean morning newspaper. Director of Veterans Services Jim Humphrey, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, provided the invocation. Humphrey, also associate dean of students and the head of Lipscomb Security, will be leaving the...

Country music stars head to Allen Arena for Charlie Daniels benefit tour

Music legends are heading to Lipscomb this spring for the fifth annual Copperweld Charlie Daniel’s Scholarship for Heroes event. The concert, which will be on Tuesday, March 25 at 7 p.m. in Allen Arena, will feature performances from Charlie Daniels, Kellie Pickler, Clint Black, The Grascals, the American Hitmen, the Navy Band Sea Chambers and other special guests. The Charlie Daniels Scholarship for Heroes tour is a benefit to raise funds for American veterans’ education. The event was started in March 2010 by Daniels to promote the Yellow Ribbon education program. Lipscomb participates in the Yellow Ribbon program at the highest level, offering free tuition for eligible military veterans and their families. Veterans may pursue an undergraduate degree through the program. Specific master’s programs are also available tuition-free. Servicemen and women, veterans and their families are invited to the concert as guests of corporate sponsors. In Lipscomb’s press release about the event, Jim Humphrey, the associate dean of campus life and director of veterans services, thanked Daniels for his support of veterans and the Yellow Ribbon program at Lipscomb. “We appreciate Charlie Daniels and his organization as well as those artists who have joined us for this event the past five years,” Humphrey said. “The awareness and funds that they raise for our program are impacting the lives of our veterans and their families in significant ways.” “Our veterans know that freedom isn’t free, but we think their education should be,” Humphrey said. “At Lipscomb we have a very unique opportunity to help open doors for our veterans through higher education.” Tickets are available to the public through to the generosity...