Eric Church Releases New Song ‘Darkest Hour’ to Aid Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts

Eric Church is stepping up to help his home state of North Carolina after portions of the state were devastated by Hurricane Helene. Church just released the new song “Darkest Hour,” and is signing over all of his publishing royalties from the new song to the people of North Carolina affected by the disaster.

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Hurricane Helene has impacted communities across North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida, with CNN reporting that the death toll has risen to more than 200 people across six states, with many people still unaccounted for.

“From Western North Carolina, East Tennessee, Upstate South Carolina, parts of Georgia and even Florida which took a direct hit, there are so many places that were impacted. Specifically in the area that I’m from, the mountains of Western North Carolina, were devastated. There are places that are just biblically gone. These are our family members, they’re our friends, they’re our neighbors – and they’re in dire need of help,” Church said in a statement.

Church has already been working on new music for some time, but he says he didn’t want to hesitate to release a song that could help those impacted by the natural disaster.

“I’ve been in the studio for a while, trying some different things and exploring creativity,” he said. “I had this song that I’d written, and the line that struck me in light of the recent devastation was ‘I’ll come running,’ because there are a lot of people out there right now who are in their darkest hour and they need people to come running. We were going to wait to release music until next year, but it just didn’t feel right to wait with this song. Sometimes you give songs their moment and sometimes they find their own moment.

“This song, ‘Darkest Hour,’ was the best way I could think to try to help. We’ve been helping with boots on the ground efforts, but this is something that will live beyond just the immediate recovery. This is not a quick thing to fix, so hopefully ‘Darkest Hour’ will be able to contribute to that for a long time to come. This song goes to my home, North Carolina, now and forever.”

He continues, “‘Darkest Hour’ is a song dedicated to the unsung heroes, the people who show up when the world’s falling apart. This is for the folks who show up in the hardest times, offering a hand when it’s most needed, and standing tall when others can’t. Even in your darkest hour, they come running. When the night’s at its blackest, this is for those who are holding the light, guiding the lost and pulling us through. The message of the song specifically in this time is about Hurricane Helene and the people that need help, but in a broader view, it’s about any challenging times that we have in our life, which we’ll all have. And it’s always important to know that in your darkest hour, there are people that will come running, there are people that will help. And I think it’s also important to be one of the people that go running when other people need help.”

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In addition to the proceeds from Church’s publishing on the song going toward helping those in his home state, Church’s Chief Cares Fund is also working to provide aid to those impacted by Hurricane Helene.

Other country artists are stepping up to help, as well. East Tennessee native Morgan Wallen, through his Morgan Wallen Foundation, previously donated $500,000 to the Red Cross to aid relief efforts. On Oct. 9, the Morgan Wallen Foundation will host a food drive in Knoxville, Tennessee, and is selling charity T-shirts , with proceeds going to aid those impacted by Hurricane Helene.

Church’s fellow North Carolina native Luke Combs also previously told fans that he is working on a project to aid those affected by the hurricane.

Hear Church’s “Darkest Hour” below.

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