Eric Church continues to use his platform to shine a light on the people of North Carolina.
Church has been incredibly involved in the Hurricane Helene relief efforts in his home state. The natural disaster moved up through Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia at the end of September, completely devastating mountain towns in western North Carolina. That prompted a number of artists – including Church – to band together to put on a benefit concert to help raise money for relief efforts.
The massive, star-studded “Concert For Carolina” took place on Saturday, October 26th at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. Eric Church and Luke Combs were the headliners, and other artists like James Taylor, Chase Rice, The Avett Brothers, Keith Urban and Sheryl Crow among others also pitched in to help.
After it was all said and done, the benefit concert raised over $24 million dollars for Hurricane Helene relief efforts. In an interview with Billboard, Church said that it was one of the most memorable and mission-like concerts he’s ever been a part of:
“It was an amazing night. I’ve done a lot of shows, but I don’t know that I’ve ever felt a show like that. We had a lot of people come help — Keith Urban, Sheryl Crow, James Taylor — and it just ended up being this redemptive revival night. But at the same time, we all knew why we were there.
We knew that there was still a need. So we were there on a mission. The concert had a mission feel to it that we were organizing and weaponizing and we were there to help the people in North Carolina. It was a unique feel for any concert I’ve ever done.”
And when Eric was set to perform at the 2024 CMA Awards, there was only ever one song that he was going to play: “Darkest Hour.” The Chief once again used a moment where the spotlights were shining on him to draw attention towards those in need with his song that he released (and donated in perpetuity to the state of North Carolina) early in response to Hurricane Helene.
Eric has done things like that throughout his entire career, and he continued that tradition with his emotionally stirring CMA performance. It was also nice to see Joanna Cotten back on stage with him.
Check it out:
That right there is why Eric Church is one of the best in the business.
As a big fan of the “Springsteen” singer myself, I’ve really enjoyed seeing how Church has taken on a leadership role in Hurricane Helene relief efforts. After all, the natural disaster did tear through his neck of the woods, and he clearly feels as though he has a responsibility to help clean things up.
And considering he’s seen the destruction and devastation first hand, he knows that the cleanup efforts happening as we speak are really just the beginning. So that’s why Church continues to advocate on behalf of his home state:
“I think the biggest thing that the people of North Carolina need after Helene is awareness. Because as a society we tend to move on pretty quickly to other things. That’s just our nature and these people are going to need help for a long time.
So the more that I can shine a light on the people there and the need that is going to still be there for a long time, the better off it it will be. And we can help the people there get back on their feet.”
The Chief has already pledged to build 100 homes in 100 days for families that were displaced by Hurricane Helene. That’s one thing that he’s been very passionate and adamant about: encouraging North Carolina residents impacted by the disaster to return to continue living in North Carolina.
Often times when tornados or flooding wreak havoc on areas, the people within those areas leave and never return. Eric Church recognizes that, and that’s why he’s spearheading the rebuilding process:
“In this country, we do pretty well at the 911 — the food, the water, the diapers. We don’t do as well at phase two, and that’s keeping people in the community. We will never rebuild these communities if you don’t keep the people there.
So we’ve committed to putting a hundred homes in Avery County and to give people a place that they can figure out what’s next for them. They can stay in their county, their kids can stay in the local schools, they can stay involved in their church. It just gives them a shelter that they can then figure out the next part of their life. And it’s all I’ve been doing every day, all day since the hurricane happened.”
Hail to the Chief. If you are personally interested in helping out with Hurricane Helene relief efforts, you can make a donation to The Chief Cares Fund at this link.
