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    • Eric Church and Luke Combs host a Hurricane Helene benefit show
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    Eric Church and Luke Combs host a Hurricane Helene benefit show

    Madoc Meredith Posted on

    Billy Strings, James Taylor and others will perform in Charlotte on October 26th to benefit Hurricane Helene relief

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    Undeniable country icons past and present come together to help their beloved Western North Carolina.

    Luke Combs, Eric Church, Billy Strings and James Taylor will headline the “Concert for Carolina” benefit show on October 26 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, home of the Carolina Panthers. The event will be hosted by Marty Smith of ESPN and Caleb Pressley of Barstool Sports. Additional artists will be announced later.

    Discover Asheville and the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority will host the event.

    Tickets for the show go on sale Thursday at 10 a.m. ET/9 a.m. CT. For detailed information, visit Concertforcarolina.com.

    Donations may be made to the North Carolina Community Foundation Disaster Relief Fund or to various organizations listed on Concertforcarolina.com I can’t attend the concert, but I would still like to offer support.

    Concert for Carolina partners include Tepper Sports & Entertainment and Explore Asheville, T-Mobile, Jack Daniel’s, Whataburger, Miller Lite and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.

    How the concert came about

    On Sept. 30, Combs, a Huntersville, North Carolina, native who considers the 300-mile radius northwest of North Carolina between his alma mater, Appalachian State University in Boone and Asheville, to be fundamental to his personal and professional roots, made the announcement publically Media He worked to plan “something very special” to help his community.

    “We’re doing everything we can to get you the help you need right now,” country superstar Church added.

    Church is from Granite Falls, North Carolina, about an hour north of Combs’ Huntersville.

    Church and Combs began organizing an event to raise critical funds for relief efforts. This included a call to David Tepper and his wife Nicole. Tepper owns the Carolina Panthers, MLS team Charlotte FC and Bank of America Stadium.

    The Teppers offered the stadium as a venue for the benefit concert.

    How are the artists connected to the region?

    Combs headlined Kidd Brewer Stadium at Appalachian State in 2021 and played sold-out performances at Bank of America Stadium on consecutive nights in 2023.

    Church, who also briefly attended Appalachian State University, was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2016, recorded his three-part album “Heart & Soul” in the western North Carolina town of Banner Elk in 2021 and was inducted in 2022 the North Carolina Award, the state’s highest civilian honor.

    An impressive number of the Michigan-based Strings’ “Billy Goats” fans call North Carolina home, as evidenced by a six-day, two-week performance in February at Asheville’s ExploreAsheville.com Arena.

    Rock and Roll Hall of Famer James Taylor’s connection to the region extends far beyond his songs “Copperline” and “Carolina in My Mind.” The artist moved to Chapel Hill with his family when he was three years old because his father was dean of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Medical School from 1964 to 1971.

    How are the aid funds managed?

    All proceeds from the event, including sponsorships, will be split 50% between Combs and the church’s Chief Cares Foundation to be distributed to organizations of their choice to support relief efforts in the Carolinas and the Southeast.

    Combs’ share will be distributed between Samaritan’s Purse, Manna Food Bank and Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC, as well as another organization to be announced.

    Church’s Chief Cares focuses on supporting established charities that are well-run and organized and can provide assistance directly to families affected by Hurricane Helene.

    “Darkest Hour” by Eric Church also benefits the region

    On Friday, Church announced that he was transferring all royalties from the release of “Darkest Hour,” his first new song in three years, to the people of North Carolina.

    In a press statement, he said the song was dedicated to “unsung heroes” who “show up when the world collapses.”

    “This is for the people who show up in the most difficult times, offer a hand when it is needed most, and stand firm when others cannot,” he said. “Even in your darkest hour, they come running. When the night is blackest, this is for those who hold the light, guide the lost, and pull us through.”

    The song highlights Church and his team’s concern that their family members, friends and neighbors need help, and he released it months ahead of schedule.

    “It just didn’t feel right to wait to do this song,” Church said. “Sometimes you give songs their moment and sometimes they find their own moment.”

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    Madoc Meredith
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