“This Is Everybody We Should Champion In America” — Eric Church & Luke Combs On Why They’re Putting On “Concert For Carolina” Benefit Show

Couldn't have said it better myself. Yesterday, Luke Combs and Eric Church announced a massive benefit concert to support Hurricane Helene relief efforts called Concert for Carolina , which will take place on Saturday, October 26th at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. Of course, Luke and Eric are western North Carolina natives, with Luke growing up in Asheville and Eric in nearby Granite Falls. Both attended Appalachian State University, and got their start playing in the same bars around Boone. Billy Strings and James Taylor are also listed as headliners, which more artists to be announced soon. https://www.instagram.com/p/DA02lUzxp-e/ It's been beyond impressive the way that these two have stepped up for their home state, and Eric also released a song this past Friday called "Darkest Hour," with all proceeds from it, forever, going to the people of North Carolina. And this morning, the two of them appeared on FOX News Channel’s FOX & Friends to talk about the upcoming show, and the larger ongoing Hurricane Helene relief efforts. Of course, they touched on why it's so important that they do this. Luke explained that he obviously wants to do whatever he can to help out his people, and Eric was immediately on board too. They set up a show that would normally take months of planning in a week: "I mean, you know, I grew up in Asheville and, you know, went to college in Boone and, you know, I just like you said, you know, this -- this is the place that -- that I grew up and these are the people that I grew up around and they're tough people. And I know that, you know, that they'll get through this. And I just want to be able to help, me and Eric want to be able to help in ways that were useful at doing so... I called him straight away day after and was like, hey, I'm going to do whatever it takes to put this show together. He really did a great job reaching out to a lot of folks and as in my team and to make this happen... a lot of people stepped up to help. And, for that, I'm -- I'm forever grateful." Eric echoed the sentiment of host Ainsley Earhardt, who talked about the great people of western North Carolina, that are as hard working, humble, generous and kind as you can possibly imagine. He nailed his point about what makes them so special, and how the people in that region are "everybody we should champion in America." I know I'm extremely biased, because those are my people too, but that really is the perfect summary of who they are, why they're so special, and why it's so important to support them during this dire time of need: "And Ainsley, you hit on something there that -- that's the -- the heart of what middle America is when we talk about middle America are the communities in Western North Carolina. And they're tough people. They're very like-minded people. And what normally happens is in those tight communities is when one community is in trouble, the community next door comes running to help. And in this case, there is no community next door. So we're the community. So it's about getting the awareness out there and letting people know that we are that community that needs to go and help. And this is -- this is everybody we should champion in America are the people that are from there." Ultimately, the concert is about shining a light on the heartbreak and devastation there, to bring awareness for the months and even years to come, because that's how long this process is going to take for people to fully rebuild. While the concert will obviously raise a ton of money, and that's amazing , it's so much deeper than that, Eric says: "The people here are going to need more than a month or two. So the more light we can shed on this community and rebuilding this community, the better off we're going to be." Even just seeing Eric and Luke together on TV doing this interview does so much good. The entire state is hurting right now, and we need a morale boost more than ever, and there's really no better men for the job than Eric and Luke, who are beloved in their home state. Tickets for the concert will go on-sale this Thursday, October 10th at 10AM , and 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. "Darkest Hour" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvIbu71_57o