TJ Martell Foundation Gala Featuring Personal Performances by Morgan Wallen, HARDY & ERNEST Helps Raise $2.6 Million

These days, Morgan Wallen usually plays to crowds in the tens of thousands – but on Tuesday (September 17) night in New York City, the country juggernaut performed a set with Hardy and ERNEST for an audience numbering in the hundreds at the 2024 TJ Martell Foundation Gala Fundraiser.

The trio of Big Loud artists put on a show that felt like a casual writer's round — something you're more likely to see at Nashville's Bluebird Café than Midtown Manhattan's Cipriani. Carrying their own gear up to the stage, Wallen, HARDY and ERNEST climbed on stools and strummed their signature songs on acoustic guitars, occasionally leaning into the microphone to add backing vocals to each other's songs when moved by the music.

Genre mash-up HARDY kicked things off with a stripped-down version of his Country Airplay top hit “Truck Bed” that packs a punch. ERNEST and Wallen blended their voices effortlessly on their collaboration “Flower Shops”. and Wallen even released his unreleased song “Love Somebody,” marking the song's live debut on American soil. (Yes, he also played the delightful Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 “Last Night,” which had everyone's phone on the air and recording.)

Few people could put together a night of this caliber, but Seth England is not like most. The Big Loud partner/CEO was honored Tuesday night by the TJ Martell Foundation — which funds groundbreaking research in the fight to end cancer — with the music industry's Lifetime Achievement Award. And the crowd that turned out to raise money and honor England was filled with artists (like Miranda Lambert), songwriters (including Craig Wiseman, England's Big Loud collaborator), producers and music industry executives from Nashville to New York to Los Angeles and beyond.

“When I asked Seth England to be the honoree this year, he didn't hesitate, he didn't have to check his schedule, he just said 'yes,'” said Steve Gawley, chairman-elect of the foundation's board of trustees. . “Seth's only question was, 'How do we make the biggest impact?' Because Seth always thinks big.” England's ability to gather the country music Rat Pack for the gala certainly paid off for the good cause – the TJ Martell Foundation reports raising a record $2.6 million for 2024.

“This year, I've had a huge learning curve about everything this organization means to people — learning about the people it's helped save and the money that's been raised and continues to go to cancer research,” England said in his speech. “The work that the TJ Martell Foundation has done has touched countless lives, and to be a part of that legacy is something that is humbling. I am honored to be able to contribute to this mission in a small way tonight.”