Simply stunning.
Last night, Miranda Lambert, Parker McCollum, and many other of their famous Texas friends and artists took the stage at the Moody Center in Austin for a star-studded benefit concert called Band Together Texas, which benefited The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, the leading charity behind the ongoing flood relief efforts, and Central Texas Community Foundation.
Of course, South-central Texas was ravaged by flash flooding over the 4th of July weekend earlier this summer, and over 130 people lost their lives in the Texas Hill Country region. The Guadalupe River rose dramatically due to torrential rainfall, leading to widespread flooding, and a significant number of the fatalities occurred in Kerr County. The devastation has been unimaginable, and while nothing will be able to replace the loved ones who lost their lives, it does bring hope to know that people are so willing to step up during a time of great need.
Music is of course healing, and in times of distress, the people who make the music are the ones who often step up. When Hurricane Helene caused similarly tragic flooding in Western North Carolina last fall, Eric Church and Luke Combs put together the Concert for Carolina benefit, which raised over $24 million for disaster relief. And several other Texans besides Miranda and Parker already put on benefit concerts, like Josh Weathers’ benefit concert that raised over $400,000 less than 48 hours after the disaster happened, George Strait’s “Strait To The Heart” raised millions, and Pat Green, who performed last night as well and lost family members in the flood, raised over $ million earlier this week with a livestream benefit.
Ryan Bingham, Wade Bowen, Ronnie Dunn, Dylan Gossett, Jack Ingram, Lyle Lovett, Lukas Nelson, Jon Randall and Randy Rogers Band all performed last night too, but Cody Johnson gave a standout performance of the classic “How Great Thou Art.” It’s a song he’s performed live here and there over the years, but was even more special last night as he paid his respects to those who lost their lives, and loved ones, in the tragic flood.
The original hymn was written in 1885 by Swedish preacher Carl Boberg and is one if, if not the, most recognizable church hymns of all time. Not surprisingly, tons of other artists have covered the song since it was written over 135 years ago, like Elvis, Alan Jackson, and even John Mayer back in 2019.
But this acoustic rendition is so special, and Cody’s voice is of course flawless. I can’t imagine there was a dry eye in the room, and it looked like an extremely special moment that everyone who was in the room will remember forever.
He just doesn’t miss:
@hannybaker took moody center to church tonight @Cody Johnson @Moody Center ATX #bandtogethertexas #austin #fyp ♬ original sound – Hannah Baker
Matthew McConaughey and Dennis Quaid, former UT Longhorns coach Mack Brown and players Emmanuel Acho, Colt McCoy and Vince Young, MLB star and Houston native Roger Clemens plus television host and Dallas native Chris Harrison, also took the stage at different points throughout the evening in an effort to help raise as much money as possible for those whose lives have been changed forever by the tragic flooding.
We’re still waiting on an official number to be announced in terms of how much they raised, but I have to imagine it’s going to be a huge number and everyone who was part of it last night should be very proud of themselves and what they’ve done for their neighbors in the Lone Star State.
The full livestream is available to watch below.
