Luke Combs, Eric Church & More Plan Hurricane Helene Relief Benefit Show
Luke Combs, Eric Church, James Taylor and Billy Strings have organized Concert for Carolina, a benefit for Hurricane Helene relief that will take place Oct. 26 at North Carolina’s Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium.
Combs, Church and Taylor all grew up in North Carolina, while Strings has spent considerable time performing in the Tarheel state. Concert for Carolina will be hosted by ESPN’s Marty Smith and Barstool Sports’ Caleb Pressley and presented by Explore Asheville and the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority. More artists are expected to be added.
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Tickets go on sale Thursday (Oct. 10) at 10 a.m. E.T. on the Concert for Carolina website. The website also says a raffle and auction are coming soon.
Western North Carolina has been decimated by Hurricane Helene, which swept through Sept. 27 and destroyed multiple mountain towns. The death toll from the hurricane has surpassed 225 in North Carolina and the surrounding states, including Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and Virginia.
All proceeds from the event will be split evenly between Combs’ charitable endeavors and Church’s Chief Cares Foundation to administer to organizations they choose to support relief efforts across the Carolinas and the Southeast.
Combs’ portion will be distributed among Samaritan’s Purse, Manna Food Bank and Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC, as well as one more organization still to be announced. “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. Tickets will go on sale this Thursday and 100% of all proceeds will be going directly to those who need it most,” Combs posted on Instagram.
Church’s Chief Cares is focused on helping established charities and organizations that can expedite aid directly to the families affected by Hurricane Helene. ““This is my home. It’s in every fiber of who I am,” posted Church in Instagram. “Our family members, friends, neighbors and communities are in dire need. I’m honored to share the stage with an incredible lineup in order to help meet those needs. Through the dark, light will shine.”
Combs called David Tepper — who owns the Carolina Panthers NFL team, Charlotte FC soccer team and Bank of America Stadium — and his wife Nicole, who immediately offered the venue for the concert, according to a press release.
“When Luke first approached us with the idea for a concert benefitting relief efforts in the region, we felt compelled to open the doors of Bank of America Stadium for this special moment,” said the Teppers in a statement. “Every day, we are more inspired by the strength and resolve of our Carolina community, and we are grateful to join Luke, Eric, and our fellow Carolinians as we embark on the road to recovery together.”
Sponsors include T Mobile, Jack Daniel’s, Whatburger, Miller Lite and Blue Cross/Blue Shield North Carolina.
Taylor, one of North Carolina’s most famous native sons, moved to the state when he was three, while Combs was born outside of Charlotte and raised in Asheville. Church was born in Granite City. Both Combs and Church attended Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. Although he is a Michigan native, Strings has performed at major venues across the state including an upcoming six-night run at Asheville’s ExploreAsheville.com Arena this winter.
Additionally, Church released new song “Darkest Hour” on Friday (Oct. 4) and is signing over all of his publishing royalties from the song to the people of North Carolina affected by the disaster.
At that time, Church said in a statement, “From Western North Carolina, East Tennessee, Upstate South Carolina, parts of Georgia and even Florida which took a direct hit, there are so many places that were impacted. Specifically in the area that I’m from, the mountains of Western North Carolina, were devastated. There are places that are just biblically gone. These are our family members, they’re our friends, they’re our neighbors – and they’re in dire need of help.”
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