Luke Combs, Eric Church, Billy Strings and James Taylor to Hold North Carolina Concert for Hurricane Helene Relief
A handful of massive music stars are coming together in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
Less than two weeks after the tropical storm began ravaging the Southeast, Explore Asheville and the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority announced Luke Combs, Eric Church, Billy Strings and James Taylor will headline Concert for Carolina, a charity show to aid victims of the natural disaster.
Hosted by ESPN’s Marty Smith and Barstool Sports’ Caleb Pressley, the event will go down Oct. 26 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. More performers will be announced soon.
The benefit concert will be especially meaningful for the four headlining performers, all of whom hail from North Carolina.
“I told y’all I had something big planned for Carolina,” wrote Combs, 34, on Instagram alongside the announcement. “This concert took so much planning, work, and coordination from so many people. I’m so thankful to everyone who helped make this a possibility on such short notice.”
Shortly after releasing his first single in three years to benefit the people of North Carolina, Church, 37, also shared a heartfelt message to Instagram about Concert for Carolina.
“This is my home. It’s in every fiber of who I am. Our family members, friends, neighbors and communities are in dire need,” he wrote. “I’m honored to share the stage with an incredible lineup in order to help meet those needs. Through the dark, light will shine.”
The event’s proceeds will be evenly distributed between Combs and Church’s Chief Cares Foundation. The “Forever After All” singer will donate his half to Samaritan’s Purse, Manna Food Bank, Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC and a fourth, to-be-announced organization.
Meanwhile, Chief Cares will help “established charities and organizations that are well managed, organized and can expedite aid directly to the families affected by Hurricane Helene,” per a press release.
Anyone unable to attend the show can donate to The North Carolina Community Foundation Disaster Relief Fund, while Concert for Carolina’s website lists several other organizations accepting donations to help with hurricane relief.
Tickets for the show go on sale Oct. 10 at 10 a.m. ET.
Earlier this week, Dolly Parton pledged a $1 million donation to help Hurricane Helene victims after her home state of Tennessee was one of the six states affected.
The “Jolene” singer’s donation will be matched by her East Tennessee businesses, including Dollywood Parks & Resorts, Dolly Parton’s Stampede, Pirates Voyage Dinner & Show, and the Dollywood Foundation.
“I really, really wish that we were all together for another reason, but we all have seen the devastation,” said Parton during a press conference.
“I mean who knew in our little part of the country here, where I was born and raised just right down the road, that we would have this kind of devastation? And I look around, and I think: These are my mountains. These are my valleys,” the “Jolene” singer continued. “These are my rivers flowing like a stream. These are my people. These mountain colored rainbows. These are my people and this is my home.”
Find out how you can help the victims of Hurricane Helene here.
Source: People