Tim McGraw is set to headline a Sandy Hook fundraiser designed to raise money for the protection of children against gun violence. It’s an escalating issue in the nation, and nothing addresses that more than the 2012 tragic shooting of elementary school children in Newtown, Connecticut.

Rolling Stone reports that McGraw will perform at the event, which is called Tim McGraw: A Concert for Sandy Hook Promise. It’ll be held at the Xfinity Theater in Hartford, Connecticut, on July 17.

Opening acts for Tim McGraw at the Sandy Hook concert will feature Billy Currington and Chase Bryant. They plan to donate 100 percent of the show’s net proceeds to Sandy Hook Promise, which is a non-profit organization founded by family members of the victims. They plan to direct funds toward prevention programs that help in areas of mental health, social and emotional development, and firearm safety.

McGraw is passionate about this fundraising concert event, as he emphasizes in his statement.

“Out of this tragedy a group was formed that made a promise to honor the lives lost and turn it into a moment of transformation. Sandy Hook Promise teaches that we can do something to protect our children from gun violence. I want to be a part of that promise — as a father and as a friend.”

It so happens that McGraw’s fiddle player — Dean Brown — is a close friend of the Barden family, who lost their 7-year-old son, Daniel, in the shootings. Daniel’s father, Mark Barden, is moved by Tim McGraw performing for the Sandy Hook Promise.

“We are humbled that Tim would do this for us. Dean and his wife Cindy helped my wife and I through our darkest hour and helped buoy our spirits. It meant more than words could ever say.”

Tickets for Tim McGraw: A Concert for Sandy Hook Promise will go on sale Friday, April 17. They can be purchased at LiveNation.com and Ticketmaster.

Surprise guests at the concert will be announced soon, the report adds.

So far, 413,200 people have joined the Sandy Hook Promise organization on its website. It contains information on warning signs of someone who might be a threat to others and themselves and what people can do to help them. Families of those killed in the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School are determined to make a difference when it comes to America’s youth and the constant battle with gun violence.

The Tim McGraw Sandy Hook concert will help further their cause and hopefully draw more attention to helping end needless tragedies with guns and children.

[Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for ACM]