Brad Paisley, Charles Esten & More Unite for Alzheimer’s Awareness at Nashville Disco Party
Some of Nashville’s most prominent artists came dressed to the nines in their finest (and flashiest) 1970s inspired get ups, all in the name of cause near and dear to many of their hearts.
The inaugural Disco Party Benefiting the Alzheimer’s Association was just as much a costume party as it was a benefit. Some of Nashville’s most prominent artists including Brad Paisley, Charles Esten, Jerrod Niemann, Lindsay Ell and more came dressed to the nines in their finest (and flashiest) 1970s inspired get ups, all in the name of cause near and dear to many of their hearts.
Kimberly Williams-Paisley was one of the masterminds behind the event, as her mother sadly passed away from dementia after being diagnosed at the early age of 60. She opened up about her family’s experience in her book, Where The Light Gets In, and hopes that events like this help bring more awareness to the disease.
Pictured L-R: Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Charles Esten, Lindsay Ell, Brad Paisley; Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Alzheimer’s Association
“We can celebrate coming together for a good cause and having a great time while we’re doing good, so that’s really what we’re going for tonight, we want everyone to have a blast,” she tells Sounds Like Nashville about the event.
“When you think about combating a disease like Alzheimer’s the robs you of your memories and sort of makes you do things that you’re unaware of doing, I can’t think of a better way to fight this than to get up here and be willing to sort of goof around, have a good time, make fools of ourselves all in the name of a really good cause,” echoes her husband Brad.
Pictured L-R: Shannon Campbell, Kimberly Campbell, Kimberly Williams-Paisley; Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Alzheimer’s Association
Kim Campbell, wife of the legendary Glen Campbell, knows exactly what the Paisleys experienced, as she is fighting the disease with her husband, who was diagnosed in 2011. “We want to support any attempt to raise funds, raise awareness, find a cure, we’re all about that, and what a fun way to do it,” Campbell says.
She also started her own site, CareLiving.org, to serve as a resource for caregivers as well as patients. “It’s all positive and encouraging. It’s helped me, it’s my therapy,” she says. “We’re hoping to translate that into some real-world change and help and caregivers that are suffering.”
Pictured L-R: Jerrod Neimann, Morgan Petek, Lindsay Ell; Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Alzheimer’s Association
Alzheimer’s also hits close to home for Jerrod Niemann, who’s had family members suffer from the disease, as well as his wife’s aunt who’s currently battling it. He commends the country music community for doing its part in bringing awareness. “Country music represents helping people and loving people and doing anything we can to get to the bottom of things like Alzheimer’s,” he says humbly.
The audience came dressed to impress, decked out in all the 70s gear including afros, neon clothing and platform shoes, making anyone think we had left honky tonk central and entered a 70s disco hall. That fact also rang true when the artists took the stage, with each one nailing their disco hit, with the house band keeping the crowd on their feet in between sets performing such numbers as “YMCA,” “I Will Survive” and more.
Brad Paisley; Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Alzheimer’s Association
Paisley brought a little rock n’ roll to the night with Eric Clapton’s “Cocaine,” as he and Ell rocked out on guitar together, clearly impressing fans. Donning a brown leather jacket, patchwork shirt and shades to match, Chuck Wicks had the crowd dancing to the always popular, “Superstitious,” a performance so enjoyable that they called out for an encore. In what was a vocal highlight of the night, Jamie O’Neal nailed her delivery of “Lady Marmalade,” looking flashy in a lemon yellow wig and feather boa.
CJ Solar picked the perfect song for his voice with “Long Train Runnin’” before High Valley’s Brad and Curtis Rempel showed of their trademark sense of humor when they took the stage in full 70s ensembles, with Brad rocking an Elvis wig and sideburns for “We Are Family,” appropriately changing the lyric to “I’ve got all my brothers with me.” Chip Esten was awarded the loudest applause of the night when he took the stage in an all-denim outfit and charmed the crowd with his fiery rendition of “Play That Funky Music White Boy,” inviting Paisley to shred on guitar. Esten busted out his funkiest dance moves, bringing almost everyone to their feet, cell phones in hand as they crowded the stage to record the upbeat performance.
Pictured L-R: Charles Esten, Lindsay Ell, Brad Paisley; Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Alzheimer’s Association
Brad Paisley and Ell later reunited for a spirited rendition of Clapton’s “Layla,” which found host Blair Garner and Esten coming on stage to film the back-to-back guitar jam session the two had. The lively show came to a close with an all-star finale that invited every star back onstage for The O’Jays “Love Train.” Esten, Wicks, Solar and Niemann took the song’s title seriously when they started a dancing train around the stage while Curtis fist pumped next to Ell while she played guitar in a performance that left the audience cheering for more.
