Simply incredible.
Last night, Eric Church and Luke Combs held their Concert for Carolina, which was an all-star benefit show at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte to raise money for those in North Carolina who were devastated by Hurricane Helene last month.
There was an impressive lineup of North Carolinians on-hand like James Taylor and obviously Eric and Luke, Chase Rice, The Avett Brothers as well as Keith Urban, Sheryl Crow and more.
Of course, it was extremely extremely exciting nigh to see so many amazing artists onstage together, though obviously, we all wish it could’ve been under different circumstances. The stadium was packed full, and they had an in-the-round stage set up so the field itself was full of seats too, with a rotating stage.
I knew from ticket sales alone they had to be bringing in a TON of money for charity before the concert even happened, but at the end of the night, host Marty Smith informed the crowd that they had raised a whopping $24,513,185.
It’s hard to put into words how meaningful and important that is for the people in western North Carolina, but it’s going to do a lot of good and help so many people:
@lilbitofeverything90 25 millions dollars raised tonight #lukecombs #boa #bankofamerica #ericchurch #country #keithurban #benefitconcert #charlotte #nc #northcarolina #ncstrong #wnc #westernnc #northcarolina #ashville #ashvillenc #swananoah #savenc #help #idontowntherightstothisvideo ♬ original sound – lil bit of everything
The official attendance number was over 82,000:
Amazing night at BOA. Official attendance was 82,193 and $24,513,185 raised to help those impacted by Hurricane Helene in Asheville and Western N.C. Country music star Luke Combs put this all together. He’s been hard on the Panthers this season but he spoke with great gratitude… pic.twitter.com/JpelorvgoE
— David Newton (@DNewtonespn) October 27, 2024
And while I’m far from a David Tepper fan (he’s the owner of the Carolina Panthers, sadly), Luke told the crowd that he donated the venue, gate, beer, parking, and labor for the evening, which obviously helped that total of money raised go way up because he paid for all for the expenses out of his own pocket, essentially, and I give him credit for that:
Per Luke Combs, David Tepper donated the venue, gate, beer, parking, and labor. Every single dime collected at #concertforcarolina will go to the mountains to help those people.
— the D (@DieselOnRadio) October 27, 2024
Like Luke said during the show, ALL of proceeds from the event, including sponsorships, will be split 50/50 between Combs and Church’s Chief Cares Foundation to administer to organizations of their choosing in support of relief efforts across the Carolinas and the Southeast.
It’s all going directly up the mountain to the people who desperately need it, and Combs’ portion will be distributed between Samaritan’s Purse, Manna Food Bank and Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC (all very legit, and great places to donate if you’re wanting to make a personal donation as well). Church’s Chief Cares is focused on helping established charities and organizations that are well managed, organized and can expedite aid directly to the families affected by Hurricane Helene.
I want to end with a huge THANK YOU to Eric, Luke, their teams, and all of the other artists and teams, from Panthers staff and beyond, who helped make this evening possible. The people in western North Carolina are still hurting right now, even if you’re not seeing it on TV anymore, and like Eric has said in doing press for last night, they’re the people we should be championing in this country and are a huge part of what make it so great.
The fact that both men moved heaven and earth to make this happen speaks to their character, and as I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, mountain people are special and would do anything in the world to help their neighbors when they need it.
It only feels right to leave you with this…
“Carolina”
