Tracy Lawrence Celebrates 20th Anniversary Of Turkey Fry And Benefit Concert, Raising $355,000, Distributing 5,350 Turkeys And Providing 50,000+ Meals
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Country music icon and philanthropist Tracy Lawrence celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Mission:Possible Turkey Fry and Benefit Concert yesterday in a massive way, seeing the Nashville community come together like never before for the beloved event. What started as a morning of prep led to panic after discovering a refrigerated truck had broken, spoiling 650 stored turkeys out of the 3,600 total allotment. Lawrence called out to social media, news outlets, artists and celebrities asking for donations to replenish the stock in order to reach their goal of feeding 36,000 people throughout Middle Tennessee. The result was truly a miracle, ending in over 2,400 turkeys donated, making the new total 5,350 cooked and frozen distributed turkeys. The added donations have now brought the total to 50,000+ meals provided for those in need. Watch a recap video of the fry here.
“I cannot imagine a better 20th anniversary for the Mission:Possible Turkey Fry and Concert,” said Lawrence. “What started as a day of uncertainty turned into a day of our community coming together in a way I couldn’t have imagined. Between the fry itself and the benefit concert with my friends Gretchen, Chris, Eric and Halfway to Hazard, I was blown away once again by the kindness of our neighbors.”
The community support continued into the night as fans gathered at Luke Combs’ Category 10 for the benefit concert, with performances by Lawrence, Gretchen Wilson, Chris Cagle, Eric Paslay and Halfway to Hazard. The event saw a record-breaking amount of money raised for Mission:Possible, totaling $355,000 from ticket sales, silent auction items, significant artist donations and more, with a check presented to Nashville Rescue Mission for $250,000. New this year, the show hosted a canned food drive on behalf of Second Harvest Food Bank to help support families and individuals facing food insecurity, with one participant taking home a signed guitar from the food drive raffle.
Last year, the concert raised $250,000 for the third year in a row, featuring performances by Lawrence, Russell Dickerson, Meghan Patrick, John Schneider and Halfway to Hazard. Past performers of the annual concert include Lainey Wilson,Luke Combs, Tim McGraw, Jason Aldean, Chris Young, Cole Swindell, Justin Moore, Dustin Lynch, Lee Brice and more.
In addition to special artist donations from the concert, artists and celebrities came out to support the turkey fry earlier in the day, with appearances from notable names like Jamey Johnson, Tucker Wetmore, Charles Esten, Dustin Lynch, Meghan Patrick, John Crist, Rodney Atkins, Clint Black, Rhett Akins, Frank Ray and more. Wetmore surprised Lawrence with a drop off of over 100 turkeys, while Patrick also donated and took to social media to encourage her community to support and donate. Additional turkeys were donated from artists like Steve Warner, Atkins, Black, Akins, Esten and more. Monetary donations can still be made to Mission:Possible here.
Since its inception, Lawrence’s Mission:Possible has fried over 15,000 turkeys, provided more than 135,000 meals to the homeless across Middle Tennessee, donated over $1.3M to Nashville Rescue Mission and raised over $2.5M which helps to further its goals, advocate for those in need and expand their ability to support aligned causes.
For more information visit www.tlmissionpossible.com and keep up with Lawrence on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
ABOUT TRACY LAWRENCE:
With 13M albums sold and 18 No.1 singles, Tracy Lawrence has solidified his status as a cornerstone of country music for more than thirty years. Even as he continues to release music and tour, the CMA and ACM award winner’s ambitions have also extended to numerous media and charity projects. His interest in working with younger artists and being able to explore different topics led to the “TL’s Road House” podcast, which has featured guests such as HARDY, Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson and more.
Over three decades into his decorated career, Lawrence’s legacy continues to evolve. He spent 2024 touring with artists like Riley Green, Luke Bryan, Lainey Wilson and more on top of his first-ever headlining show at the Ryman, which was sold out, and he returned to the iconic venue this year with another sold-out show. After revisiting his catalog with the Hindsight 2020 Vol 1, 2 and 3 and Live at Billy Bob’s Texas albums, Lawrence released his Out Here In It EP, available everywhere now. Meanwhile, Lawrence continues to uphold his commitment to helping those in need across Middle Tennessee and beyond with his Mission:Possible non-profit committed to serving the homeless. From its humble beginnings cooking Thanksgiving dinners for the Nashville Rescue Mission to frying over 15K turkeys to date, the organization has raised more than $1.3M for those in need. In recognition of his philanthropic efforts, Lawrence was honored with the 2023 CRS Humanitarian Award.
For additional information on Tracy Lawrence, please visit hiswebsite,Facebook,Instagram,X andTikTok.
ABOUT MISSION:POSSIBLE:
Tracy Lawrence's Mission:Possible exists to raise support and awareness of the homeless population in Middle Tennessee and beyond. The organization was launched in 2006 with its initial fundraising event, Mission:Possible Turkey Fry which has raised over $1.3M for Nashville Rescue Mission, fried over 15K turkeys and provided over 135K meals to the homeless and hungry of Middle Tennessee. In 2021, the organization created an annual Spring event, Mission: Possible Celebrity Golf Classic which has raised nearly $1.5M to date.