Kenny Rogers joins benefit

If you’re hoping Kenny Rogers will attend your charity bash, ask him at the last minute.

“It’s easier for me to say ‘yes’ tomorrow than ‘yes’ six months from now,” he said during a phone interview earlier this week. “I know what I’m doing tomorrow.”

The country music legend turned gentleman farmer and his wife, Wanda, will serve as honorary chairmen at Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation event, held Wednesday at the Georgia Aquarium. Rogers’ philanthropic focus is “children, hunger and homelessness. This touches all three of them.”

Taste of the Nation, featuring the culinary creations of Atlanta’s top chefs, benefits the Atlanta Community Food Bank, Open Hand and Genesis —- A New Life.

We caught up with Rogers as he supervised an army of workers renovating his home. “I’ve got 50 people in my house, and it’s just driving me crazy!” he said.

Later this month, Rogers is playing “Divas Nashvegas,” a benefit for a Nashville teen center, at the behest of his friend Wynonna Judd. He keeps a pretty full tour schedule, even though he’s not actively seeking booking dates.

“I’m in a great place in my life,” he said. “I work as much as I want to work. I decided I didn’t want to work as much so I raised my price last year, and I worked more than I did the past 10 years. I’m going to keep raising my price until they quit paying.”

Beloved for his smoky voice and the rich storytelling in his songs, Rogers is putting his narrative skills to work each night, before 4-year-old twins Justin and Jordan go to bed. A favorite story about the mighty lion tuckered out by the wily mouse who skitters about is somewhat autobiographical.

“These kids just run around me in circles, and I just pass out,” said Rogers, who maintains a home in Atlanta and a 150-acre spread outside Athens. He’s created a menagerie including a donkey, goats, sheep and even a couple of Labradoodles.

“There’s a chance I’m overdoing it,” he said. “I didn’t have that when I was a kid. I grew up in the projects. You weren’t allowed to have pets.”

Justin plays the drums, Jordan plays the air guitar, and both little fellows sing all the time.

“Every parent thinks their children are gifted,” Rogers said. “I feel so sorry for them, because mine really are.”

Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation

Monday, Georgia Aquarium.

Tickets are $250, or VIP tickets for $350

VIP reception starts at 6:30 p.m., main event starts at 7:30 p.m.

Info: taste.strength.org