Sondra Hernandez Staff writer October 31, 2024

The Houston-based military support nonprofit Boots for Troops is bringing back its Concert in the Country fundraiser for the ninth year. 

The event will take place Nov. 8-9 at Show Sports Farm, 32931Wright Road in Magnolia. 

Featured music acts include Pam Tillis, Bailey Rae, Chloe Coleman, Cory Morrow, Tyler Farr, Jake Bush, Mike Donnell, Steve Helms, Ben McPherson and Eddie Montgomery from Montgomery Gentry. 

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What is the nonprofit? 

Jimmy Rogers Jr. is the president and co-founder of the Boots for Troops nonprofit. He grew up in Tomball and joined the U.S. Navy in November 2011. 

He was deployed in 2015 as part of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. During his deployment, he saw a need for care packages that connected with individuals. 

“Some of us were getting packages from home and some of us were not,” Rogers said. “We were also receiving massed-produced care packages where it looked like someone got a bunch of maybe leftover department store items and packaged them. I thought we come from the greatest country in the world and we should be sending the best and most quality items to our troops.” 

Together with his wife, Lindsey, they launched the nonprofit Boots For Troops in 2015 before he even returned home from deployment. 

Today, Boots For Troops provides custom care packages to deployed troops around the globe. Each package includes a pair of boots chosen by the service member and other items tailored to their unique tastes and functional needs.

They have shipped more than 5,000 custom care packages. There’s a place on the Boots for Troops website for soldiers to apply for the program. 

Other Boots for Troops programs 

The organization also helps with travel assistance to bring a soldier home for the holidays or when a family emergency occurs. They have provided travel arrangements for just short of 200 soldiers. 

The Honor Our Heroes Program is designed to support veterans who have served in the Armed Forces. The program provides financial assistance to veterans for disaster relief efforts, financial hardships and other emergency situations. The program also funds one service dog a year. The dog is then paired with a veteran with a disability and in need of a service dog.

The group also offers scholarships to military spouses in hopes of bringing a military family a smoother transition into civilian life. 

What is Concert in the Country? 

Rogers’ father and mother-in-law own a 35-acre horse ranch in Magnolia and as he and his wife launched the nonprofit, they knew they’d need to raise funds.

His father-in-law suggested a concert on the ranch land and Concert in the Country was born. Over the past eight years Boots for Troops’ Concert in the Country has raised more than $700,000 for Boots for Troops programs.

Rogers said the nonprofit has brought in major entertainers like Pat Green, Aaron Watson, Joe Nichols, Tracy Lawrence and others. 

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What are the details for this year? 

For the first time the group will host a Friday headliner on Nov. 8 with Country musician Pam Tillis who comes on at 8:30 p.m. A cornhole tournament will begin at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 8. Bailey Rae and Chloe Coleman also perform Nov. 8. 

On Nov. 9, the gates open at 3 p.m. with performers throughout the day and Montgomery Gentry coming on at 9:30 p.m. Gentry was a part of the duo of Montgomery Gentry with Troy Gentry. Gentry was killed in a helicopter crash in September 2017. 

Montgomery chose to carry on the group in his bandmate’s memory and the group is celebrating 25 years this year. 

Other activities include 33 barbecue cook off teams, vendors, food trucks, family friendly activities and an “Honor Our Heroes” tribute featuring local veterans. He said they’ve had more than 3,000 people attend in recent years and its an extremely patriotic event. 

A tribute to the late Country singer Toby Keith will take place Friday and Saturday night. On Saturday night a guitar signed by Keith will be auctioned off. 

“He meant a lot to the military community and traveled a lot to see our troops during the height of the war many times and we want to pay tribute to him,” he said. 

Want to go?

Tickets are available on the Concert in the Country website. A general admission pass is $45. A Friday general admission ticket is $20. A Saturday general admission ticket is $35. There are also varying levels of VIP and preferred tickets as well as table options. 

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