— CINDY WATTS

Since Keith Anderson lost his mom to brain cancer in 2008, he has been driven to save other families from that pain, and his appearance at 7 p.m. Thursday at The Listening Room is part of that ongoing effort.

Songs for the Cure, a songwriters night to benefit fourth-grader Savannah Swandal, will feature more than a dozen of Nashville's most successful artists and songwriters. Swandal was diagnosed when she was 5 with Stage IV metastatic alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive childhood cancer. This is her third bout with the disease.

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"I'm a pretty happy-go-lucky guy and can't say I've ever hated anybody or anything in my whole life, until a couple of years ago when my mom got cancer," Anderson said. "You see what it does, not only to her but to families, and I'm just committed to doing whatever I can to find a cure."

Others who plan to participate in the benefit evening include Lonestar's Dean Sams and songwriters Gary Burr, Billy Yates, Brian White, Cory Batten, Georgia Middleman and Lisa Carver.

"She's just a beautiful child," Anderson said, "and it's going to be a great night of songs. We're going to find a cure one day for this horrible disease."

Music is 7-10 p.m., and a $10 donation will be requested at the door.