CONTENTS
TOMORROW'S BLUEGR ASS STARS
FESTIVAL GUIDE
home for the festival,” Adkins explained, an excruciating sadness in his voice. “But she didn’t get to go back to St. Jude.” The experiences his family had at the hospital stuck with Adkins, spurring him, along with his wife Phyllis, to continue the annual fundraising event in his daughter’s memory. Although Adkins didn’t say this directly, it’s clear he and those who devote their time to Musicians Against Childhood Cancer (MACC) do it because they hope to have a hand in making miracles happen. In this case, the funds are used very specifically, and with an uncommon level of accountability. “All of our money that we donate, that goes into the medical part at St. Jude, it does not go into the general fund,” he explained. “It goes into the Brain Cancer Research Department...so they use our money as seed money.” He said he receives tours of the facility and is regularly updated on what the festival’s donations are achieving in trying to eradicate childhood cancers. “Each year around December, the head of the Research Department sends us all the clinical trials that the MACC was involved with that year,” he said. “We send that out to all the artist and volunteers that are involved in the MACC.” “They get to see what they’re helping to do,” he added.” This is their festival.” Adkins said before his daughter passed away, she understood how important it would be for her parents to carry on with the festival. “I think for her to tell us not to quit, shows what she knew about the music, and how she loved it,” he said. “She loved people and had a big heart.” Today, what Adkins refers to as “the MACC family” comes together each year to pay tribute to children such as Amanda and to help build a foundation of hope for future kids afflicted with cancer. Not only does the festival attract over 40 acts, but a labor of love goes on behind the scenes as well. “It takes 60 volunteers to put this thing on, and they’ve been with us years and years,” Adkins said. The reason so many support this event comes as no surprise: they’re familiar with one of the most respected hospitals and research institutions in the nation—St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
“When we were living at St. Jude,” Adkins said, “We saw a lot of miracles.”
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THE BLUEGRASS STANDARD