Montgomery Gentry and Chuck Wicks sang for charity to the tune of a more-than-$1,000 donation for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital 7 p.m. Sunday at the Convocation Center, 1525 W. Lincoln Highway.

The concert was part of country radio station Q98.5’s St. Jude Jam, a concert series that is held every March to bring in donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. St. Jude’s is a hospital for children who are sick with different types of cancers and other diseases.

Q98.5’s Steve Summers attended the concert and raised awareness for the event.

“We always ask artists that come to the area if they would like to be a part of it [St. Jude Jam],” Summers said. “Eddie [Montgomery] actually had a battle with cancer during his life and went through St. Jude, so when we asked him if the band would be a part of it, he said, ‘Of course!’”

Since the concert was a part of the St. Jude Jam, a portion of the ticket sales were donated to the program. This money will go toward medical bills for the sick children at St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

“St. Jude is our charity of choice,” Summers said. “I’ve been to the hospital several times and my goal is to raise money for St. Jude kids.”

Summers said Q98.5 has been involved in raising money for St. Jude for 21 years. The radio station conducts multiple fundraisers, like bowling for charity and motorcycle riding events, every year to raise money.

“The best part about St. Jude is that no family ever pays. The donations cover all of the kids’ treatment,” Summers said.

Summers was voted in as a member of the St. Jude Advisory Council and raises money for the charity with events like this concert, which raised more than $1,000 to go toward the charity.

Montgomery Gentry is a country duo that has been around since 1999. At Sunday’s concert, Its members performed a set of their classic hits: “Where I Come From,” “Something to Be Proud Of” and “My Town.”

The concert included opener Chuck Wicks, who released his second album, “Rough,” on April 9.

After his set, Wicks signed autographs and took photos with some of the fans.

“He was so good,” said Chelsea Schneider of Sycamore. “It was great to see him live.”

Wicks said he enjoyed performing in DeKalb, and he was excited to be a part of the concert.

“I love Illinois,” said Wicks, a native of Delaware. “It’s my first time in DeKalb, and I had a great time.”

Wicks said the crowd was very active and vocal during his performance.

“The crowd was great,” Wicks said. “It was fun to hear people singing along to my songs.”

When Montgomery Gentry hit the stage, the fans shouted and screamed for the headlining act.

The crowd called Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry back on stage for an encore at the end of the show, and the duo performed another 30-minute set before ending the show and inviting fans to party with them on the tour bus.

“They had a lot of energy,” said Quinton Yording, senior athletic training major.

Some fans said that they hoped Montgomery Gentry would return to DeKalb soon.

“I would definitely see them again,” said senior biology major Kristi Lytle.

One group of students was even lucky enough to watch the performance from backstage.

“We were at Fatty’s before the show and the band members [Montgomery and Gentry] walked in and started talking to us,” said Kaitlin Eschbach, senior child development major. “They gave us tickets to the show and all-access backstage passes. They were really nice.”