For the third year, the Michael J. Fox Foundation organized a concert benefit at Belmont University’s Fisher Center for Parkinson’s disease research.
Chart-topping country music favorites Chris Stapleton and Little Big Town delivered electrifying performances at the recent 2025 Michael J. Fox Foundation “A Country Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson’s” benefit in Nashville.
The April 16 sold-out fundraiser at Belmont University’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts raised over $1 million to find a cure for Parkinson’s disease.
At the close of the evening, to honor the 40th anniversary of the actor-turned-activist’s role in “Back to The Future,” Stapleton and Little Big Town paired to perform a take on Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode,” which Fox famously played in one of the classic film’s most iconic scenes.
“Regardless of what the cause is, as artists, we have a responsibility to use our voices to help the people that need it,” said Stapleton, while at the benefit. “In country music, there’s a tradition that our heroes like Vince Gill and Dolly Parton have made (showing up in moments like these) as much of a mark of the excellence of their careers as their music is.”
Along with Stapleton and Little Big Town, comedian Dusty Slay and Today Show host Willie Geist also performed at this year’s event.
Other celebrities to appear at this year’s star-studded benefit were singer-songwriter and actress Alicia Witt, actor Chase Stokes and his girlfriend, chart-topping country performer Kelsea Ballerini and Sheryl Crow, who headlined the 2024 fundraiser.
Little Big Town’s Schlapman, Geist, assume organizational, leadership roles
Fox has been living with Parkinson’s disease for 35 years. A decade after his diagnosis, he founded an organization aimed at accelerating research toward a cure for Parkinson’s disease. At present, with billions of dollars raised, the foundation is now the world’s largest non-profit funder of Parkinson’s research.
In recent years, the Foundation’s self-described “high-risk, high-reward” model has yielded the 2023 breakthrough discovery of a Parkinson’s biomarker — a research tool helping to speed clinical trials. The organization also backed the National Parkinson’s Project, a 2024 law that establishes the first-ever federal initiative to require the Department of Health and Human Services to carry out a project to prevent and cure Parkinson’s disease and related conditions by 2035.
For the past decade, the Fox Foundation’s success has also attracted and united stars with Parkinson’s-impacted parents to be motivated alongside the former “Family Ties” actor. Of note, Little Big Town’s Kimberly Schlapman’s mother and event host Geist’s father have both been affected by the disease for quite some time.
Schlapman’s advocacy has taken shape via the Fisher Center event, where she’s spearheaded Music City’s creative community to get involved.
Schlapman and bandmate Fairchild’s four decades of friendship has not just encapsulated touring the world multiple times over. But they’ve also endured the not-so-public moments, such as Schlapman’s mother and her caretaker father’s constant struggles.
“It’s created a powerful spiritual connection that matters,” said Fairchild.
Schlapman added, “I’m grateful that my bandmates have understood the power of how we’ve used music for healing, on multiple levels, for the past two decades.”
Willie Geist, a 1997 graduate of Vanderbilt University, returned “home” for the event, as the television personality is also a member of the board of directors of the Fox Foundation.
“Over 25 years, the Fox Foundation has incredibly raised $2.5 billion — twice as much money as the federal government — for Parkinson’s research,” Geist said. “People are drawn to Michael J. Fox as an inspirational person as much as they are to Parkinson’s research as a cause. From a scientific and holistic perspective, patients and caregivers also benefit from the research, therapy and mental health awareness that the (Fox Foundation) offers.”
Little Big Town, Stapleton earn rousing ovations
Chris Stapleton brought down the house with a standing ovation for a five-song set that included favorites like his cover of “Tennessee Whiskey” and recent mega-hit “You Should Probably Leave.”
Little Big Town also received a rousing ovation for a stirring take on decade-old “Girl Crush,” notably powered by Karen Fairchild’s lead vocal, as well as the timeless feel-good harmony that drives “Boondocks.”
Four men who raised $41 million for Parkinson’s research by rowing across the Pacific Ocean as part of the World’s Toughest Row, an ocean rowing challenge from Monterey, California to Kauai, Hawaii, also attended.
Those men, Brendan Cusick, Patrick Morrissey, Scott Forman and Peter Durso, initially set a goal of raising $28 million for the 2,800 miles they would cover. They hit a new goal of $41 million, in honor of their 41 days on the Pacific. Morrissey currently suffers from Parkinson’s.
Geist was particularly impressed by the achievement, given that he ran in 2021’s New York City Marathon to raise money for the Fox Foundation and honor his Parkinson’s afflicted father and TV journalist Bill Geist.
Fox Foundation aims to empower grassroots charitable giving
April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month, and the Fox Foundation notes that 88 cents goes to research programs out of every dollar raised. The organization allows for grassroots fundraising via its website.
Like “A Country Thing Happened on the Way to Cure Parkinson’s,” the organization also offers the tools to develop self-created fundraisers where 100% of all funds raised go directly to Parkinson’s research or tribute pages in honor or memory of a loved one with Parkinson’s are available.
More information is available via http://www.michaeljfox.org.
