Music Heals International's Music + Hope for Haiti event in Chicago on Wednesday (Oct. 24) not only brought people from far and wide eager to help raise money for the worthwhile cause of putting instruments in the hands of children, but also brought three of Nashville's finest together in the Windy City.

Sitting neatly in a row up on the stage of Joe's Live, songwriters Kelley Lovelace and Rhett Akins joined "Buy Me a Boat" hitmaker Chris Janson for a night of music, inspiration and reflection.

Much of the evening was spent with the three stars of the night telling the stories behind some of country music's biggest hits, and then, of course, performing them. Janson kicked things off with LoCash’s "I Love This Life" and a slew of his own hits, including "Fix a Drink" and "Buy Me a Boat."

Chris Janson Plays Last Question!

“I just write songs about what I think is cool,” he told the crowd as he took another swig from his ever-present Mountain Dew can.

Rhett joined the fun with his rendition of his hit "That Ain’t My Truck" and Jon Pardi's "Dirt on My Boots." I bought the boots I’m wearing in 2010 in Georgia for $112," Akins recalled. "And I wear them every single day."

He also paid tribute to son Thomas Rhett by playing the autobiographical hit "Life Changes" and officially got the crowd in hysterics before performing Luke Bryan's hit "Huntin’ Fishin' Lovin' Every Day."

“Y’all don’t know the real Luke," Akins remarked, laughing. “You don’t know the no shoes, no shirt, greasy Luke with the Elvis hair. But it was that Luke that I sat down with to write this song. It sure wasn’t politically correct, but we wrote it anyway," he admitted. "Thank you all for still being country at a time when no one wants you to be."

Lovelace also delighted the crowd with renditions of a number of hit songs he had a role in writing, including Randy Houser's "Runnin' Outta Moonlight,” Carrie Underwood's “All-American Girl” and Jason Aldean's "Laughed Until We Cried."

Janson was able to essentially silence an otherwise rowdy crowd with his performance of his hit song "Drunk Girl," which came near the end of the night. "All boys have no choice but to man up in these situations,” he noted in reference to the song's storyline. “I know God has blessed this song."

Of course, it was the kids of Haiti who seemed to capture the hearts of everyone in attendance.

"If that don’t inspire you to get up in the morning and be a good person, I don’t know what will," Janson said in reference to a video showing how the kids in Haiti are benefitting from the work of Music Heals International. "We are all here to help the children of Haiti to enjoy the gift of music."

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