No “Hurricane” at this benefit concert.
Luke Combs and Eric Church are gearing up to perform at their massive Concert for Carolina benefit show aiding Hurricane Helene relief efforts, which is slated for Saturday, October 26th at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Of course, the’ve been doing tons of press talking about the devastation in western North Carolina and why this is so important, which goes an incredibly long way in bringing awareness to this very special part of the country.
And in an interview with Rolling Stone, Luke recalled a poignant conversation with his wife, Nicole, who is from Florida:
“I’d been on the phone all day, every day, trying to get this concert done, and she said, ‘It’s different when it happens where you come from, isn’t it?’
She went to school in Fort Myers and that’s going to be real close for Milton. They just got a direct hit by Helene as well, so it’s still awful there from the last storm.”
Eric agreed with the sentiment, saying:
“Luke’s thing hit me really hard, when Nicole said, ‘It’s different when it happens where you’re from.’ You forget about the people in Florida, Louisiana, or the coastal regions that deal with this all the time.
When Luke said that, it stung me. It is different when it is where you’re from, and that’s happening more and more often. That’s reality, right? We’re a week later…”
And they also asked Combs about something I’ve been wondering about, and have seen some discussion online about, which is whether or not Luke would play his hit debut single “Hurricane.”
It was released in 2016 after initially charting at country radio in 2015, and was included on his debut album This One’s for You. The song was written by Combs, along with Thomas Archer and Taylor Phillips.
I’ve seen a couple people suggest that he strip it down to an acoustic number and change the words some, which in a sense I could see working, but Luke says that ultimately, he and his team discussed it and it won’t be happening:
“No. It came up a couple days ago and we were talking about. You just can’t do it.”
I definitely think that’s probably the best decision, and while it’s fun to hear at his normal, full-throttle concerts, this is all obviously under completely different circumstances. And honestly, all of us here in the Carolina’s are tired of hearing that word anyways, I can promise you that…
Tickets for the show have already sold out, and they have reiterated that all 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.
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.
Eric also released a song this past Friday called “Darkest Hour,” with all proceeds from it, forever, going to the people of North Carolina.
“Hurricane”