The “greatest thing” he’s ever been involved with, and rightfully so.
Last fall, Eric Church and Luke Combs hosted their Concert For Carolina benefit show, which ended up raising over $24.5 million for residents in western North Carolina that were devastated by historic flooding from Hurricane Helene. Of course, both Eric and Luke have very personal ties to the area, as Luke grew up in Asheville from the time he was eight years old. Eric grew up in Granite Falls, which sits in the foothills of the mountains, and both are Appalachian State University alumni.
They said before, and during, the concert that every last penny would go towards helping those affected by the hurricane, with Combs’ portion being distributed between Samaritan’s Purse, Manna Food Bank, Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC and Eblen Charities. 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.
Church has already purchased the land in Avery county where the homes will be built, and they’re hoping to have them ready by this summer. They also now have an office set up at Newland Town Hall to help expedite the process as much as possible, but because the internet is the internet, they initially received some criticism from people wanting to know where the money was, implying that they hadn’t kept their word and gotten it to the right places. Of course, much of that stems from the lack of assistance from both the state and federal government in the previous administrations, which left so many people out in the cold, quite literally, this winter, and many were understandably frustrated, unfairly placing the blame on Combs and Church…
Obviously, $24 million is a lot of money, but the damage is worth billions, and they can only do so much, as we all know. I’m not in any way taking away from the amazing work they’ve done, and will continue to do, but they’re not Uncle Sam and don’t have unlimited funds, but I digress.
In an extensive article by Nora O’Neill in the Charlotte Observer today, she broke down exactly where the money went and spoke to locals about how it has already helped.
The Chief Cares CEO John Blackburn said they bought $850,000 worth of land with the money from the concert, saying it wouldn’t have been possible without the benefit concert:
“This is our passion. This is our project. So it means a great deal to us that all those folks came together and put that concert together. I wouldn’t be here today trying to build houses for folks if they had not done the Concert for Carolina.”
They already received over $12 million in funds in January, after officially becoming a certified 501(c)(3). The money first went to the Tepper Foundation, which was founded by Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper, until it could be transferred to Chief Cares.
There’s also tons of information on Combs’ portion of the money HERE, along with testimony on how much it has all helped from local officials, and in a recent press release announcing his new album Evangeline vs. The Machine, Eric noted just how special the already-released song “Darkest Hour,” and how special the Concert For Carolina was to him.
In fact, he went as far as to call it “the greatest concert I’ve ever played,” and also “the greatest thing I’ve been involved with.” For someone who has accomplished so much in his career, it just goes to so how much it really meant. Luke Combs made similar comments a little while back, and they deserve all the praise for what they did:
“That song had the chance to change things—it already has. The greatest concert I’ve ever played was the Concert for Carolina – that’s the greatest thing I’ve been involved with. This song played a big part of that night and is a rallying cry for the people there that still need a lot of help. As a person who writes and performs a song, seeing it truly impact people’s lives is the greatest thing you can hope to accomplish.”
It’s true that music is medicine, and to see these two superstars using it, as well as their very large platforms, to do so much good is remarkable and admirable, to say the least.
As a fellow North Carolinian who loves WNC as much as they both do, they make me, and everyone else involved, so proud. These two men deserve all the praise and recognition for what they’ve done, and I’m more than happy to spotlight them and brag on them as much as I possibly can. They showed up when they were needed the most, and have continued to provide aid, relief, and hope to a region that has experienced unimaginable suffering.
Turn it up…
“Hands Of Time”
“Darkest Hour”
Evangeline vs. The Machine Tracklist:
1. Hands Of Time (Eric Church, Scooter Carusoe)
2. Bleed On Paper (Tucker Beathard, Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell)
3. Johnny (Eric Church, Luke Laird, Brett Warren)
4. Storm In Their Blood (Eric Church)
5. Darkest Hour (Eric Church)
6. Evangeline (Eric Church, Luke Laird, Barry Dean)
7. Rocket’s White Lincoln (Eric Church)
8. Clap Hands (Tom Waits)