From left, Will Jones, Tommy Karlas and Ryan Larkins will perform at Party with a Purpose, a Franciscan Health Foundation fundraiser to benefit healthcare worker mental health initiatives.
SUBMITTED PHOTOSFew venues in music history are as legendary as the Bluebird Cafe.
The intimate Nashville, Tennessee, club has been an incubator of talent, a place where artists such as Garth Brooks and Taylor Swift were discovered. People pack into it every night of the week to hear the best singer-songwriters in the country perform.
Organizers of the annual Party with a Purpose wanted to bring that feel, and those musicians, to Johnson County.
Party With a Purpose, a fundraiser for the Franciscan Health Foundation, fires up again Thursday at Mallow Run Winery in Bargersville. Headlining the event are three Nashville performers — Will Jones, Tommy Karlas and Ryan Larkins — whose songs are being recorded by Tim McGraw, Dolly Parton, Blake Shelton, Randy Travis and many others.
“It’s a listening-room kind of experience. We’re trying to recreate the Bluebird Cafe, where it’s three artists, playing their guitars, and you hear the story behind the song. It really adds a whole richness to the experience,” said Greg Williamson, executive director for the foundation.
The event is being billed as Franciscan Family Night, and proceeds go to support mental health and well-being initiatives for Franciscan Health coworkers.
“All of the money from that night will be used to promote health, wellness, mechanism and strategies for coping with stress and anxiety. We can bring education about avoiding burnout,” Williamson said. “It’s very much a needed resource for our caregivers.”
The Franciscan Health Foundation has been hosting its Party with a Purpose for years, usually as a gala event. Money raised during the events helps the foundation put on more than 30 programs, including cancer care programs, family health initiatives, educational campaigns and programs for Franciscan Health employees.
Williamson was inspired to create this year’s fundraiser after a trip to Nashville with his wife.
“We stopped in the Bluebird Cafe, and there were these three guys playing. We were blown away,” he said. “We’ve done hospital galas here for years, and they get kind of stuffy, they’re black-tie, and they don’t always feel accessible to people. This was a chance to do something different.”
Williamson reached out to the three musicians, Jones, Karlas and Larkins, and discussed bringing them to Indianapolis for a concert. They agreed, and in 2022, Karlas and Larkins headlined Party With a Purpose.
This time around, all three musicians are able to attend.
Each performer brings a sterling musical pedigree honed over years of songwriting and performing. Jones is a bluegrass specialist, and has performed at national events featuring stars such as Chris Thile, Johnny Cash, Osborne Brothers and Ralph Stanley.
Karlas has written songs for Shelton, Travis, Trisha Yearwood, and many more. He penned the multi-week number one smash hit, “Roll With Me,” which went on to be the fastest-rising and most downloaded song of Montgomery Gentry’s career and earned him an ASCAP Songwriter Of The Year nomination.
One of Larkin’s songs will be featured on McGraw’s upcoming album, “Standing Room Only.”
Attendees can enjoy the music, as well as food trucks, Mallow Run beverages and more. And as in previous Party with a Purpose events, the money generated goes towards a specific need identified by the foundation.
Franciscan Health employees, and caregivers in general, have struggled with burnout in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The foundation wanted to offer resources to address mental health issues employees may be experiencing, Williamson said.
“There was lots of stress, lots of mental health concerns. Employee well-being is just so important that the foundation created an employee well-being fund. All proceeds from this concert go towards that fund,” he said.
IF YOU GO
Party with a Purpose
What: A country music fundraiser featuring Will Jones, Tommy Karlas and Ryan Larkins to benefit healthcare worker mental health initiatives.
Who: Franciscan Health Foundation
When: 7 p.m. Thursday; doors open at 6.
Where: Mallow Run Winery, 6964 W. Whiteland Road, Bargersville
Cost: $15 in advance, $20 at the door
Information: www.MallowRun.com/franciscan-family-night
