Country stars gather for benefit

LOS ANGELES Close to 40 artists have been confirmed for a daylong performance livestream CMT will host on its social platforms May 20, with Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Sheryl Crow and Avril Lavigne among the talent set to join Feed The Front Line Live, Presented By CMT.

The show will benefit Feed the Front Line, which has Maggie Mcgraw as the vice-president of its Nashville chapter. Mcgraw is the daughter of country superstars Tim Mcgraw and Faith Hill, so it’s a given that those two will be among the event’s headliners. The charity provides free food to frontline workers and, in the process, helps support local restaurants.

The streams will be hosted on CMT’S Facebook and Youtube channels. In reflection of the beneficiary, the all-star livestream will be broken up into three separate meal-themed components: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Among the dozens of others on board for the all-day webcast are Kelsea Ballerini, Grace Potter, Jon Pardi, Billy Ray Cyrus, Brett Young, Dustin Lynch, Scotty Mccreery, Rita Wilson, Blanco Brown, Carly Pearce, Caitlyn Smith, Cassadee Pope, Kip Moore, Lori Mckenna, Tucker Beathard, Charlie Worsham,

Jimmie Allen, Shy Carter and Tenille Townes. The exact lineup of who will be performing during which stream will be announced in the run-up to the event.

Performances shot at home by the stars will be interspersed with stories of front-line workers and the local restaurants who’ve been enlisted to feed them.

Appearing on The Ellen Degeneres Show recently, Tim Mcgraw spoke about his 21-year-old daughter’s work with the charity.

“Maggie’s doing some work for a non-profit called Feed the Front Line,” he told the talk show host. “It’s a national non-profit and she’s organizing the one here in Nashville

... It’s a really great project, I’m really proud of her. She’s doing great stuff.”

“Feed the Front Line is grateful to partner with CMT and country music’s biggest stars in our mission to support restaurants and feed front-line workers and other people most in need during the COVID-19 crisis,” Maggie Mcgraw said in a statement. “We hope viewers that are able to make a donation will consider doing so to help us bring more food to more people across the country.”

Viewers will be asked to visit ftfl.org/give to contribute during the streams.

The organization says it has raised more than $750,000 and delivered about 50,000 meals so far during the pandemic.