Stars Come Out to Tribute George Jones on 95th Birthday
George Jones is gone. But he won’t be forgotten. Not if the country music community has anything to say about it. From the young, to the old, to traditionalists, to more contemporary performers, big names showed up to pay tribute to The Possum on Sunday, September 13th, which was the day after what would have been No Show’s 95th birthday. Holding court at the Nashville Palace near the Grand Ole Opry, many Jones songs were sang, and many stories were told.
Jamey Johnson, legends Moe Bandy, T Graham Brown, and Lorrie Morgan, Lorrie’s son and performer Jesse Keith Whitley, Johnny PayCheck’s son John PayCheck, along with Jake Worthington, Tony Jackson, Eric Lee Beddingfied, Uncle Kracker, Ernest, Cletus T. Judd, Billy Yates, Heath Wright, Lisa Matassa, Bobby Braddock, Belle Frantz, Tim Watson, and Dickey Lee all made George Jones’ widow Nancy Jones proud as they took turns paying tribute to arguably the greatest singer in country music history.
If there’s a premier torchbearer of the old ways, and the old songs in country music, it’s Jamey Johnson. When George Jones sang, “Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes,” he must have had a performer like Jake Worthington in mind. Tony Jackson is about the only person who’s ever done songs like “The Grand Tour” any justice beyond George Jones himself.
In front of an all-star band, they all made sure that the songs and legacy of George Jones was paid forward yet another year. Randy Travis was also on scene to show his support, and Gary Gentry was also a guest of honor.
The event sold out almost immediately, even though the lineup was left as a mystery. Proceeds from the show went to Concerts 4 a Cause based in Huntsville, Alabama, as well as The George Jones Scholarship at MTSU.
Photos below by Jason W. Ashcraft of JWA Media. Follow JWA Media on Instagram.
September 15, 2026 @ 12:00 am
…95 may sound a little odd as an anniversary, but there’s probably not a day you mustn’t remember george jones, if your ears were still working.
September 15, 2026 @ 1:32 am
Nancy and her lover need the money.
And next April it will be 90 years since Merle popped into the world.
September 15, 2026 @ 6:24 am
Wish I could have been there. Dickey Lee is turning 90 this year folks!
September 15, 2026 @ 7:51 am
Uncle Kraker looks like a guy that is legally required to inform his neighbors he is moving into the neighborhood in that photo.
September 15, 2026 @ 12:50 pm
Yeah, with a name like that, ìt’s a given.
September 15, 2026 @ 9:15 am
is it just me, or is anyone else tired of T. Graham Brown showing up every time a camera is turned on?
September 15, 2026 @ 12:53 pm
The male Sheryl Crow.
September 15, 2026 @ 3:35 pm
Sheryl Crow writes many of her own songs and has sold tens of millions of records. There is NO COMPARISON between Crow and Brown.
September 15, 2026 @ 12:53 pm
I hadn’t noticed that about T. Graham Brown. I am surprised Sheryl Crow was not there.
September 16, 2026 @ 5:42 pm
Has Tony Jackson actually performed “The Grand Tour”? If so, that takes nerve.
September 16, 2026 @ 5:46 pm
Yes. It’s his signature song, and what launched his career.
https://youtu.be/fsPUrSJpR7U?si=EwXt8USDNJFhC0XX
September 21, 2026 @ 5:00 pm
Belle Frantz is one of the best I’ve heard in a long time and she does a pretty good cover too
September 21, 2026 @ 4:58 pm
Some good people there for sure, I knew about it because I still follow his FB (but have been more and more tempted to unfollow it for years because it’s clearly just occasionally strictly about George but seems more often a mouthpiece for Nancy which is a damn shame …the show was “Nancy Jones Presents”). I wish this could have been done without her and her name on all of it. His biological family, a decade and a half later, still has zip to do with anything for him (which obviously would be wrong even if she was a decent person, but worse since she’s clearly not). I’ve loved George since I can remember but unfortunately she’s tainting events rightly honoring him, if not his legacy as whole.
September 22, 2026 @ 2:20 pm
I somewhat disagree with you on this. She is his widow and its pretty typical that a widow of a dead country music legend would host events to honor their spouses legacy. On the other hand, she also employs Kirt Webster for Jones estate work, so that in and of itself may be polarizing to some of the other people in her orbit. That dude has got some serious sexual assualt allegations and issues and many people in the business want nothing to do with him.