Michelle Canning adds big guns for Alzheimer fundraiser

What started as a way to memorialize her grandfather has become a permanent part of Michelle Canning’s annual musical calender.

The Nashville-based songwriter and bandleader will host her 11^th annual fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, A Night On The Edge, this Saturday night. For the third straight year, the event will be virtual, and she’s bringing in some bluegrass all-stars to help push the total she’s raised over the years past $50,000.

The Michelle Canning band will host the event. Guests will include Darrin Vincent, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, Williamson Branch, and the Amanda Cook Band, among others. There will also be a special video performance featuring the late Aaron “Frosty” Foster, who was a member of both The Michelle Canning Band and the Amanda Cook Band.

“It is so important to me that we support the efforts of the AFA so that families going through this horrible disease can get the help and support that they need,” Canning said. “Music has such a positive impact on the lives of Alzheimer’s patients. It is truly an honor to use our music to support the foundation.”

Canning started the event in 2012 to honor her grandfather, Ken Canning Sr. Since then, her efforts have brought the foundation more than $47,000.

This year’s show will be available online Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Central time at on the Michelle Canning web site. Donations can be made there, or by sending a check to:

Alzheimer’s Foundation of America
PO Box 160834
Nashville, TN 37216

One longstanding feature of the evening, carried over from the pre-COVID days when the event was live, is a photo montage of people with the disease, both living and deceased. This year, the soundtrack for the photo display will be Better Left Unsaid, a recently completed song that Canning co-wrote.

Help if you can, either by donating yourself, or by helping to spread the word. Then remember to tune in to hear some terrific bluegrass from some of the best in the business.