Last week, Hurricane Helene rampaged through the American southeast, devastating the city Asheville and much of the surrounding area in Western North Carolina.Asheville artist MJ Lenderman had to postpone some tour dates, while Indigo de Souza shared photos of her destroyed home.
Now, Eric Church and Sturgill Simpson, two very different artists who could both be considered iconoclastic country stars, have both announced their hurricane-relief efforts — Church with a new song, Simpson with a benefit show.Eric Church is a native of Granite Falls, a town in Western North Carolina.
A few days ago, Church mourned the late Kris Kristofferson by sharing his unreleased song “Kickin’ It With Kristofferson.” Today, Church has released “Darkest Hour,” his first proper solo single in three years.It’s a soulful, gospel-inflected track with a whole lot of falsetto singing.
According to a press release, Church has signed all of his publishing royalties for the song to “the people of North Carolina.” Here’s what Church says about it: Listen to “Darkest Hour” below.Meanwhile, Sturgill Simpson is currently on a reportedly-incredible tour, heavy on cover songs, in support Passage Du Desir, the album that he released under his new Johnny Blue Skies alter ego.
Simpson was scheduled to play Asheville’s ExploreAsheville.com Arena on 10/21, but that show had to be canceled because of the hurricane.Instead, Simpson will play a special benefit show that night at Cary, North Carolina’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre, with all proceeds going to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund.
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