Tyler Childers covers John Prine, other top moments from 'Hello from the Hills' Nashville benefit concert

On Sunday evening, concertgoers filed into Nashville's City Winery for the second annual "Hello from the Hills" benefit concert. Co-presented by two nonprofits — The Hello in There Foundation and Hope in the Hills — the sold-out show featured a star-studded lineup of musicians who took to the stage for the evening's causes.

Artists Wynonna Judd, Ben Folds, S.G. Goodman, Abby Hamilton, Gabe Lee, Lindsay Lou, Jeremy Short and Grace Bowers hit the stage, performing and sharing tales of what the charities meant to them.

The Hello in There Foundation, which was created by the late John Prine's family in 2021, helps to support marginalized communities by aiding those who have been discriminated against, left behind or forgotten.

Hope in the Hills, a nonprofit created by Tyler Childers and his team alongside Appalachian community members, aims to combat the opioid crisis in Appalachia. The nonprofit supports recovery access and celebrates addiction recovery, working to heal Appalachia.

The concert also benefitted the Musicians Recovery Network, MusiCares and Tennessee Justice.

Country singer Kathy Mattea, also the host of NPR's Mountain Stage, hosted the evening of performances. During the benefit, performers took to the stage for short sets of two to three songs, all leading up to the evening's headliner: Tyler Childers.

Here are some of the show's top moments, from moving covers to rock n' roll riffs and haunting harmonies.

Jeremy Short brings out guitarist Grace Bowers

Jeremy Short kicked off the benefit concert, starting the night with his trademark "Eastern Kentucky Space Funk." The blues guitarist and singer hit the stage with a feathered boa, backwards hat and impressive orange mustache and began his set with "Feelin' Fine."

Short then called a friend out to the stage, none other than 17-year-old guitar virtuoso Grace Bowers. The two performed Short's song "(Falling Into A) Trance" together, both on the electric guitar, feeding off one another's energy. Short's voice and style had an edge to it: a bluesy, funk with moodiness, yet authenticity.

Bowers played a groovy, rock n' roll solo alongside Short, as he strummed underneath. But Short also hit the solos, ending the song with a riff beside Bowers. The two musicians were electrifying together, adding a surprise collaboration that started the evening out strong.

Abby Hamilton, with sibling Zachary, hit the harmonies

Abby Hamilton, another Kentucky native, took the stage halfway through the lineup. Hamilton's style draws from classic country and rock with a heavy Appalachian roots influence.

Hamilton, who released album "#1 Zookeeper (of the San Diego Zoo)" in October, was not on stage alone. She brought along her sibling, Zachary, who played the electric guitar and sang harmony.

The pair's voices blended together, emphasizing the musical talent in their DNA. During songs "Good Thing" and "Fried Green Tomatoes," Abby Hamilton noted the two were drawing from the rock band the Goo Goo Dolls. The piercing harmonies brought in a sound reminiscent of The Civil Wars or The Head and the Heart, but with a rock flair and Kentucky drawl added.

Hamilton cemented herself alongside other Kentucky greats like Childers, S.G. Goodman and Jeremy Short as she sang her honest, individualistic lyrics.

Ben Folds brings the piano magic

Singer-songwriter Ben Folds was the one performer to opt for the keys, snappily sitting down at the piano. His presence brought many of the other performers out from backstage, as they watched Folds work his piano magic from the wings.

He launched the audience into a two song musical odyssey, beginning with the 2015 song "Capable of Anything." Folds performed with fervor and passion, singing, "But you don't seem to think that / You could fly so low or sink so high / That you could ever love again or even try / That you could steal, or cheat, or kill, or lie." He hammered the keys with a theatricality unique to his alternative, folk style.

Folds ended his set with the reflective song "What Matters the Most," telling the audience he wrote the song about a time when he was cleaning out a storage unit in Nashville and was informed about the death of friend. The song was released in 2023 as part of an album by the same name that he recorded in Nashville.

Folds' piano virtuoso and cinematic lyrical storytelling shone through in his short, but powerful, performance.

Wynonna Judd jams alongside husband Cactus Moser

Next to take the stage was country singer Wynonna Judd alongside her husband, Cactus Moser on the guitar and mandolin, and upright bassist Dow Tomlin.

"I'm grateful to be somewhere to my purpose and to use my gift," Judd told the audience. "I have signed up for some really wacky, crazy things this year 'cause I want to be an artist. I don't want to just be famous.

"And so when I pick these things, these are really nerve wracking for me," Judd said, noting she can't hide behind big stage glamour in a small, intimate space. Moser chimed in, saying that Judd is the kind of artist who doesn't need the intense production value, just a guitar and an audience.

Then, Judd, Moser and Tomlin gave a hearty, stripped down performance of songs "What It Takes," "Love is Alive" and "What The World Needs." Moser and Judd bantered back and forth and harmonized, bringing the audience to a roar as they clapped along on final song "What The World Needs."

Judd was awarded the first standing ovation of the night from a grateful crowd.

Tyler Childers sings John Prine's 'Paradise'

The last performer of the evening was Kentucky native and one of the co-founders of Hope in the Hills himself: Tyler Childers.

Childers hit the stage with his guitarist and fiddle player, first explaining to the audience that he was feeling under the weather; he said he was "feelin' buggy," likely due to his role as a new father. While Childers may not have felt 100%, his singing voice never faltered.

The singer-songwriter, whose mix of folk and country has garnered him a cult following, played the longest set of the evening. Childers sang songs "Born Again," "Country Squire," "Nose on the Grindstone," "Lady May," "Honky Tonk Flame" and "Follow You to Virgie."

The peak of the evening, and a moment that tied Childers' Hope in the Hills nonprofit to the Prine family's Hello in There Foundation, was when Childers covered John Prine's "Paradise."

As Childers began the song, he sang, "When I was a child my family would travel / Down to Western Kentucky where my parents were born," and the audience quietly sang along with the classic. The warm tribute tied the evening together, uniting different generations of folk singers, and audiences, with the familiar 1971 tune.

The night's Kentucky-Tennessee musical flair brought artists and donors together, unified under the power of music and its ability to heal and support communities in need.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tyler Childers covers John Prine, other top moments from 'Hello from the Hills' Nashville benefit concert