Michael J. Fox visits Nashville to raise funds for Parkinson's disease

Country stars and comedians joined actor Michael J. Fox this week in Nashville to raise funds for Parkinson's disease research.

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research welcomed Brad Paisley, Little Big Town and more to an inaugural Music City gala Wednesday at the Fisher Center on Belmont University campus. Called "A Country Thing Happened On The Way to Cure Parkinson’s," the dinner and show drew an estimated 500 attendees and raised about $500,000, according to organizers.

Additional guests included Nashville-raised comedian Nate Bargatze, "NBC Sunday Today" host Willie Geist, actor and Paisley spouse Kimberly Williams-Paisley and country singer-songwriter Caitlyn Smith. James Beard-winning chef Sean Brock curated the night's dinner.

Smith, Paisley and Little Big Town entertained the audience; the night closed with a rendition of "Mountain Music" in celebration of Jeff Cook, the co-founding member of Country Music Hall of Fame band Alabama who battled Parkinson's for a decade before his death last year.

Fox, an actor known for roles in "Back To The Future" and "Teen Wolf," disclosed his Parkinson's diagnosis in 1991. He launched the foundation in 2000 to fund research towards a Parkinson's cure.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Michael J. Fox raises funds for Parkinson's disease in Nashville