3rd annual VetFest to benefit Nashville area veterans, military families

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — For a third year, Bob Woodruff’s VetFest is returning to Nashville as a way to say thank you to veterans in the area.

News 2’s longtime anchor Bob Mueller met Woodruff in 2002 when they were both in Kandahar, Afghanistan covering the war on terror following the 9/11 terrorist attack.

In 2006, Woodruff nearly died while reporting from an Iraqi tank after an IED exploded. He survived 36 days in a coma, and after years of recovery, he wants to make sure the physical and mental care he received is available to all veterans.

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“When I woke up after those 36 days, I just saw on that same third floor of Bethesda Naval that these young, some of them as young as 22 years old, Marines, some of whom were even hurt worse. And there was my family and my wife and we thought ‘We have just got to do something for them when they go back to their towns,'” recalled Woodruff.

Woodruff’s VetFest returns to Nashville on Saturday, June 22 at the Skydeck on Broadway.

“Nashville is a huge veterans town, Tennessee is a big veterans state, and you guys have music, and music to me in our world of recovery, that’s kind of therapy that exists in my mind is music,” said Woodruff.

There will be plenty of performances to enjoy at this year’s VetFest. Ashley McBryde, Maddie and Tae, Michael Warren, and Lucinda Williams are just a few artists that are expected to hit the stage.

In fact, News 2’s Mueller hosted his first VetFest in 2022 to salute veterans and their families, providing them with a night of entertainment, food, games, and fellowship.

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This year’s VetFest will take place at 4 p.m. at the Skydeck on Broadway at 5055 Broadway on Saturday, June 22.

Tickets must be reserved in advance and are available at BWFVetFest.com. To learn more about the event, click here.

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