As areas of the United States spanning North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee and Georgia have been devastated by Hurricane Helene, communities have pulled together to provide essentials to those in need and rebuild areas damaged or destroyed by the storm.
The category 4 hurricane came ashore late on Sept. 26 in Florida’s Big Bend region, with a maximum sustained winds of 140 miles per hour. As the hurricane moved north, it destroyed homes, demolished buildings, crumbled bridges and wiped away roads. In some places, the storm washed away entire communities, and has cut off cellphone services and electricity for millions of residents. So far, the death toll from Hurricane Helene has grown to more than 200 people.
In response to the hurricane’s devastation, several artists in the country, bluegrass and Americana communities have stepped up to help, including many with hometown roots in the states impacted, such as Tennessee natives Dolly Parton and Morgan Wallen, North Carolina natives Eric Church and Luke Combs and Georgia native Jason Aldean.
Church recently released his first solo song in over three years with “Darkest Hour,” dedicated to those impacted by Hurricane Helene. Church is also turning over all of his music publishing royalties from the song to help those in his home state who have been impacted by Hurricane Helene.
“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 previously said in a statement about the release of “Darkest Hour.” “And I’ve been in the studio for a while, trying some different things and exploring creativity. 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.”
Many artists have made sizable donations to various organizations, while many have also spotlighted organizations such as the American Red Cross and the Boone, North Carolina-based charity Samaritan’s Purse.
Below, we highlight some of the artists in the country, Americana and bluegrass communities who are aiding Hurricane Helene relief in various ways.
