by Lorie Hollabaugh - The Boot
Jo Dee Messina has endured more than her share of tests -- of both her faith and perseverance -- during the past few years, yet the feisty redhead continued to forge ahead, in spite of the many setbacks she experienced during the making and eventual release of her trilogy of CDs, 'Unmistakable,' this year. The EPs took six years to be released, during which time Jo Dee stood by watching as her concert bookings continued to dwindle, forcing some of her band members to move on to other gigs. In addition, her savings disappeared right around the time she and husband, Chris Deffenbaugh, welcomed their first child, Noah, born in January, 2009.

Living off of a line of credit while she waited for her album to hit stores, Jo Dee, who turned 40 this year, was forced to downsize her possessions -- even selling off her beloved '57 Thunderbird, a gift from her producer and Tim McGraw during the heyday of her platinum-selling career just a decade earlier.

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WITH HER “INSPIRATIONAL EVENING OF WORDS AND MUSIC WITH JO DEE MESSINA”

Over 1,500 people were part of a special evening of music, love and giving back this past Saturday evening (12/4) at Brentwood United Methodist Church in Nashville.

Country artist JO DEE MESSINA performed a free Christmas concert for the second year in a row on behalf of Harvest Hands Community Development Corporation, a non-profit, faith-based organization in South Nashville. Concert-goers were asked to donate a “love offering” for this incredible cause and raised over $20,000.

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by Gayle Richardson - The Boot
Lady Antebellum, Julianne Hough, Danny Gokey, Jewel and Jo Dee Messina are among the artists who have signed on to participate in St. Jude Children's Research Hospital's seventh annual Thanks and Giving Campaign. The fundraising effort will utilize social-network sites, iPhone and Blackberry apps to encourage fans to donate. The country artists join other celebs including Katharine McPhee, the Jonas Brothers, Daisy Fuentes and Danna Garcia, who will get the word out to their fans throughout the holidays, to encourage donations from now until the end of the year.

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SLIDESHOW

Multi-platinum country singer-songwriter JO DEE MESSINA’s second annual Christmas concert benefiting Nashville’s Harvest Hands Community Development Corporation (CDC)--set for this Saturday, December 4--will be streamed live on www.jodeemessina.com or
Ustream.tv(7:00 PM Central). The “Inspirational Evening of Words and Music with JO DEE MESSINA” takes place at Brentwood United Methodist Church and will benefit the non-profit, faith-based organization in South Nashville. Fans unable to attend the show--now expanded to two sets and including a youth choir--will now be able to watch live and make donations online.

Tickets for the free show--concert-goers are asked to donate a “love offering” for this incredible cause--are available online via www.jodeemessina.com, www.harvesthandscdc.com and www.bumc.net.

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