How country singer Eric Church is helping his home state, North Carolina, after Hurricane Helene
In the wake of Hurricane Helene, ABC News’ “Good Morning America” is providing five days of special coverage titled “Southeast Strong: Help After Helene” (#SoutheastStrongABC), spotlighting communities across the Southeast impacted by Hurricane Helene and the urgent efforts to help them recover.
Eric Church is lending a helping hand to his home state of North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene the best way he knows how: with music.
The country singer just dropped his first new solo release in over three years, a song titled "Darkest Hour," and all of his publishing royalties will go toward providing immediate relief to victims of the storm that devastated much of the Southeast last weekend and left more than 200 dead.
"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," Church said in a statement. "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 "it didn't feel right to wait" to release this song next year along with more new music, noting, "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," he said. "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."
Church dedicated the song to "the unsung heroes, the people who show up when the world's falling apart" and "the folks who show up in the hardest times, offering a hand when it's most needed and standing tall when others can't."
"When the night's at its blackest, this is for those who are holding the light, guiding the lost and pulling us through," he added.
Church said the song's message is about people coming together after Hurricane Helene but "in a broader view, it's about any challenging times that we have in our life, which we'll all have."
"It's always important to know that in your darkest hour, there are people that will come running, there are people that will help," he concluded. "And I think it's also important to be one of the people that go running when other people need help."
Listen to "Darkest Hour" here:
The singer's organization, Church's Chief Cares, is also pledging assistance "in all states and communities affected, from Appalachia to the Gulf."
