Country star Russell Dickerson is set to headline the Armory in Minneapolis this Friday night for Heart 360, an annual fundraising concert that benefits heart research and education. George Birge and Blake Proehl will open the show, and tickets start at $50.
The Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation hosts the annual Heart 360 charity concert, which it describes as its annual fundraising event benefitting the foundation and lifesaving heart research and education, according to the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation. Proceeds support cardiovascular research and education for patients around the world, the foundation notes. This year’s lineup, confirmed by the foundation, features Russell Dickerson headlining with opening performances from George Birge and Blake Proehl. Dickerson is known for songs including “Yours,” “Blue Tacoma” and “Every Little Thing,” as reported by KARE 11.
Survivor and Foundation Leader Share the Story
Cindy Resman, vice president of the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, and Kristen Bowlds, a heart disease survivor, visited KARE 11 News at Noon on Tuesday to discuss the fundraiser, per the station’s report. Their appearance put a personal face on the event just days before the concert takes place at the Armory in Minneapolis.
The timing lines up with sobering numbers from state health officials. The Minnesota Department of Health reports that heart disease caused 8,972 deaths in Minnesota in 2022, accounting for roughly 17% of all deaths statewide that year. In 2023, nearly 180,000 Minnesota adults said they had experienced a heart attack at some point in their lives, the department found.
A Mixed Picture on Heart Health in Minnesota
Despite those totals, Minnesota has posted the lowest overall heart-disease death rate in the country every year from 2000 through 2022, according to the state health department. But the same data reveal stark disparities: from 2018 to 2022, the heart-disease death rate was 43% higher among American Indian and Alaska Native residents than among Minnesotans overall.
Heart 360 has grown into a recurring fixture on the Minneapolis concert calendar. One past edition at the Armory featured Cole Swindell headlining alongside Priscilla Block, Payton Smith and hometown act Rocket Club, with K102 and Chris Carr & Company serving as partners and emcees for the evening, the foundation’s website notes. A separate benefit concert for the same foundation, covered by KSTP, had previously featured Grammy winner Brad Paisley as headliner.
This Friday’s show continues that tradition, with doors expected to draw fans eager to hear Dickerson’s hits while supporting a cause that touches thousands of Minnesota families every year.
