Well-deserved, whether he wanted it or not.
Luke Combs and Eric Church were honored last week as the co-recipients of the CRS Artist Humanitarian Award, but there was a part of them that felt a little hesitant to accept.
As you know, Hurricane Helene moved up through Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia at the end of September last year, completely devastating mountain towns in western North Carolina. The natural disaster immeasurably wrecked the lives, homes and communities of the “Tar Heel State.”
Combs and Church got together and planned the massive, star-studded “Concert For Carolina,” which took place not even a month after Hurricane Helene hit. Eric Church and Luke Combs headlined the show – and got help from artists like Billy Strings and James Taylor and others that had ties to the Carolinas. Of course, Luke and Eric are western North Carolina natives, with Luke growing up in Asheville and Eric in nearby Granite Falls.
The benefit ended up raising over $24.5 million dollars, and every single cent went to Hurricane Helene relief efforts. So when it came time for the Country Radio Seminar to give out their Artist Humanitarian Award – which they’ve been doing since 1990 to recognize “philanthropic efforts that have significantly improved the effectiveness and impact of the causes they support” – it only made sense that Combs and Church were named as the recipients.
Both country artists kindly accepted the award, but there was a part of them that was hesitant to be celebrated for simply helping others. After being given their trophies, Combs opened up the duo’s acceptance speech by saying this:
“Me and Eric were talking just behind the curtain there and we were like, ‘Man, what do you say when you get one of these things?’ This was the right thing to do, putting the show on. Me and Eric are both from that region of North Carolina that was most heavily impacted.
There was never once a thought that we weren’t gonna do this and that it wasn’t going to be something that defines at least my career, and I’m sure his. It’ll be a moment that I don’t ever forget.”
When it was Eric’s turn to speak on being named as the honoree for Artist Humanitarian Award, he spoke on it in a similar fashion. And Church, as he’s famously done throughout his entire career, cut right to the chase with his words:
“I’m incredibly uncomfortable with an award like this. A mentor of mine said a long time ago, ‘You should never think about what you get from doing the right thing. You should just do the right thing.’ And in this regard, this was the right thing…
I’ve played a lot of shows in my career, and that night in Charlotte was the top of the list for me, as far as special shows go. The artists that gave creatively, their time, the collection of artists, the challenges we had, and the crowd that responded to it will forever be the greatest show I’ve played.”
Some might be a little confused by Church and Combs saying they were “uncomfortable” and didn’t know “what to say,” but I get it. They just stepped up to help people in need, and used their platforms to raise money for those that desperately needed it. Is that worthy of an award, or is that just something we should all be doing for our fellow human beings?
Eric Church continued with his thoughts by leaning into a sentiment that he’s repeated ever since his home state of North Carolina was ravaged by Hurricane Helene:
“In this country, we react to a disaster, and then inevitably, another disaster happens and we move on to it. The people in North Carolina and what’s happened there… it’s not gonna be remedied in the next 5 or 10 years. So I think (it’s important to) keep a focus on it and be cognizant that this is going to be something that we’re going to see through.”
The Chief couldn’t have said it better.
