GRETCHEN WILSON - WILSON RAISES A FORTUNE FOR CHARITY AT BAR GIGS

WILSON RAISES A FORTUNE FOR CHARITY AT BAR GIGS

Country star GRETCHEN WILSON has raised a fortune for US children's charities by playing a series of low-key bar gigs. The REDNECK WOMAN singer's 10-city Back to the Bars tour raised $1.5 million (GBP770,000) for charities like the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. She says, "We've done all these huge arenas and stadiums over the past three years, which has been amazing, but there's nothing like playing for people standing just a few feet away. "It was really rewarding to be able to go back to these cities and these radio stations who supported us from the very beginning and give something back."