Country megastar Luke Bryan traded in his mic for a drive-thru headset this week—and no, this isn’t the setup to a joke!
Last Tuesday (April 8), the five-time Entertainer of the Year teamed up with Raising Cane’s founder Todd Graves for a heartfelt event that served up way more than just chicken fingers in Franklin, Tennessee.
Celeb Secrets flew down to Music City (with dreams of Cane’s sauce in hand) to witness the touching celebration of a $1,000,000 donation to The Brett Boyer Foundation, an organization founded in loving memory of Luke’s niece, Sadie Brett Boyer, who was born with down syndrome and a congenital heart defect (CHD).
Inside a local Cane’s on Bakers Bridge Ave., Luke, Todd, and their families announced a four-year partnership — $250K a year —that will fund life-saving CHD research, uplift families in need, and champion the Down syndrome community in a big, bold way.
“I think God made me good at chicken to help people,” Todd Graves joked during a press conference at the event, his voice full of sincerity. “Real success is measured by what you give back.”
And that’s exactly what this moment was all about. After forming a friendship with Luke and attending several Brett Boyer Foundation events over the years, Todd knew it was time to go big — and go bold — for a cause that touched his heart.
For Luke, the moment was just as personal.
“This is tremendous,” he shared with Celeb Secrets‘ reporter Jozie Schroder at the media session. “What’s really special about this is that I’ve watched our foundation grow with the people behind the scenes helping, and then the people that step out here like Todd and Raising Cane’s are doing… I know that people in the office at the Brett Boyer Foundation are working tirelessly that this million dollar support goes directly to families that are dealing with kids that have congenital heart disease.”
Luke’s wife Caroline Bryan and her family — Brett’s parents, Ellen and Bo — were also in attendance, joining families currently receiving support from the foundation. Together, they honored Brett’s legacy with smiles, tears, hugs, and a powerful mission: to make sure no other family has to face CHD alone.
“If I could tell Brett anything today,” Luke said softly, “it would be that we love you, we miss you, and your legacy lives on. We’re changing lives in your name.”
Todd echoed the emotional tone, explaining how his own kids have been impacted by witnessing this kind of advocacy up close.
“We work hard, we make money and go do it. It’s using our resources that we have through ‘Cane’s’ across the country,” Todd tells Jozie. “We have about 900 locations — our traffic counts, billboards and TV audiences are in the hundreds of millions, so we takes those marketing dollars and do a collab.”
“I like collabing with charities because with that exposure, we can really take the next level. Doing it for four years means it’s just more reinforced every year. We can just keep reinforcing and then when that comes up, we can continue to help and sell out the support.”
And just when we thought we couldn’t love Luke Bryan more, he put on an apron and worked the Raising Cane’s counter and drive-thru like an absolute pro (with Todd playfully “supervising,” of course). Fun fact: Luke used to work at Franklin Chop House and ran the concession stand at a local baseball field back in the day—so this was a full-circle moment!
“I think I’m ready for the challenge,” he laughed.
Of course, Luke’s kids were totally hyped to see their dad behind the Cane’s counter. “They were counting down the days until this store opened,” he said with a grin. Same, TBH.
So what’s Luke’s Raising Cane’s order? “I’m always dipping the bread in the sauce,” he confessed. “It’s my splurge.” And yes, he does get it delivered straight to his private plane.
The Brett Boyer Foundation is more than a charity — it’s a movement, and this $1M donation is a giant leap forward. With 900+ Raising Cane’s locations set to spread awareness and support, Todd and Luke hope this initiative sparks a ripple effect across the country.
“To know that 36 children are alive today because of this foundation — and then in ten years there may be hundreds if not thousands of them — it’s huge,” he mentioned to CS.
From the first bite of buttery Texas toast to the last heartfelt hug shared with families at the restaurant, this was a day to remember. Luke Bryan and Todd Graves aren’t just serving up chicken — they’re serving up hope.
And that’s the kind of collab we’ll support every time.
See more of our chat with Luke and Todd by watching the video below.
