The band raised over $1.25 million for charity
The only thing Old Dominion likes more than writing and playing music for their friends and fans is bringing it all together in a way that gives back. Thrilled to become the first band to win the Country Music Association’s coveted Group of the Year seven consecutive years, they decided to celebrate with seven shows at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium over four nights – and to give all the money raised to the charities they’ve supported along the way.
Raising well over a million dollars, $1.25 million, to be specific, the band was joined by friends across genres including Bear Rinehart from Needtobreathe, Steven Wilson Jr., and original believer Phil Vassar.
As if seven shows filled with surprise guests were not enough, Old Dominion decided to treat fans everywhere to the release of the nostalgia-driven sure-to-be hit, “Making Good Time.” The guitar-etched mid-tempo track is available now.
“There are so many ways to celebrate something like this,” lead vocalist/guitarist Matthew Ramsey marveled. “And this song, captures the spark of who every guy in this band was when we started chasing this dream. The journey is just so crazy you can’t believe it when its happening to you. But also, no matter what happens, you never forget it.”
Those special moments have fueled Old Dominion from the beginning. They added a few more to the fire with surprise guests ERNEST, and The War & Treaty, who captivated the crowd with an uplifting rendition of “Lean on Me.” To say it was a night packed with music would be an understatement.
In all the excitement, they slipped a little – revealing that after a year of headlining festivals, they would indeed get back to playing their own shows this summer. A major tour announcement will be coming on February 19th, but the “official” cat is out of the bag.
“Sometimes you get so caught up in the moment, you get carried away,” Ramsey said with a laugh. “I didn’t realize I was going to do it, but then I did. And then it was out there. At least, the news that we’d be doing a real tour, playing our own shows and making it a night for the Odies.”
With anticipation high for exactly when Ramsey, Trevor Rosen, Brad Tursi, Geoff Sprung and Whit Sellers would be returning to the road for their own dates, these Ryman shows reminded Nashville why this band is such a crowd-pleasing aggregation of musicians. Not only are they all stellar players, hit songwriters and good friends, they are the kind of people who care – and give back.
For MusiCares, Save the Music, Backline Care, Opry Trust Fund, CMA Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and The Ramsey Foundation, that caring meant a six-figure bump to all of their good works. As Ramsey said after the final shows, “At a time when charitable organizations are doing more with less, we all felt it was really important to support organizations that we know take care of people who need it.”
