In photos: Thousands pack Bank of America Stadium for concert benefitting western North Carolina
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The crowd singing along with Eric Church as he performed "Carolina." Photo: Ashley Mahoney/Axios
Luke Combs' team had been in talks with the tourism group Explore Asheville for months about ways to work together before Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina. In a matter of weeks, it became Concert for Carolina at Bank of America Stadium in Uptown Charlotte.
Why it matters: The benefit concert drew a crowd of 82,193 people and raised $24.5 million for western North Carolina. It also brought together massive names including Combs, who grew up in Asheville, and Eric Church, who grew up in Granite Falls and spends time in Banner Elk.
Context: Combs and Church headlined along with Chapel Hill native James Taylor and Billy Strings, who also has North Carolina ties.
- The rest of the lineup includes North Carolina natives The Avett Brothers, Scotty McCreery, Chase Rice and Parmalee, plus Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban and Bailey Zimmerman.
- "I have to hear 'Carolina in my mind' in this stadium," Church said, joking that he stalked Taylor for a week or two. He reached out to Joe Walsh of the Eagles repeatedly.
- "[Walsh] finally called [Taylor] and said, 'you've gotta talk to this guy and you need to play this show so he'll leave me alone,'" Church said Taylor told him Friday night before the show.
What they're saying: "A show like this usually takes a year or a year and a half to plan and we were able to get it done in three weeks," Combs said.
Zoom in: During the show, Church announced a plan to bring 100 homes to the mountains of North Carolina called Blueprint for the Blue Ridge.
- A note from country music legend Dolly Parton was also shared during the show. Parton is giving $1 million to Eric Church's foundation to support relief efforts, which will come from the funding she received from Jeff Bezos in 2022.
The big picture: Western North Carolina is slowly reopening. October is peak season for tourism in western North Carolina, Explore Asheville president & CEO Vic Isley told reporters ahead of Concert for Carolina.
- "Our comeback is coming in pockets and stages across western North Carolina," Isley said.
By the numbers: Visitors to Buncombe County, which includes Asheville, spent nearly $3 billion last year, Isley said.
Zoom in: N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper provided updates on the state of western North Carolina ahead of the concert:
- At least 98 people have died due to Helene. That figure is expected to rise.
- The financial damages from the storm are estimated to be $53 billion, more than three times the damage of Hurricane Florence in 2018.
The bottom line: "What you're seeing tonight is we are the community next door," Church said. "The people that are in this stadium are the community next door."
