Now in its eighth year, the Stars for Second Harvest benefit raises money for an organization that provides food for the needy. Founded in the late ’70s, Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee distributes sustenance to folks for whom hunger is a daily reality. This year, the event will help kick off CMA Week, and host Craig Wiseman will bring along a brace of performers for this worthy cause. A Mississippi native who began his career as a drummer before moving to Nashville in the ’80s, Wiseman has written songs for country titans Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney — you may know such tunes as “Live Like You Were Dying,” which Wiseman wrote with Tim Nichols. A composer with the gift of being both populist and thoughtful, Wiseman also has penned songs for Roy Orbison and Toby Keith, and tonight’s event will feature some of the songwriter’s equally gifted colleagues.
— Edd Hurt