Artists have mobilised to produce benefit concerts in support of Hurricane Helene victims across the Southeastern United States.

Country and folk stars Luke Combs, Eric Church, James Taylor, and Billy Strings announced a benefit concert for North Carolina yesterday (7 October), set for 26 October at Charlotte’s 75,000-capacity Bank of America Stadium. Combs, Church, and Taylor are all natives, with Strings touring the state extensively.

Hurricane Helene ripped through parts of Florida, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee in the final days of September, rapidly intensifying to become the deadliest hurricane since 2005’s Hurricane Katrina. Over 230 people have died across six states, with 117 of those being from North Carolina, per CNN.

Proceeds from tickets and sponsorships will be split evenly Combs’ choice of recipients, which includes two food banks, and Church’s Chief Cares Foundation, poised to support established aid organizations across the state and greater region.

Church spoke online about his motivation: “This is my home. It’s in every fibre of who I am. Our family members, friends, neighbours and communities are in dire need. I’m honored to share the stage with an incredible lineup in order to help meet those needs.”

The country star also released the song Darkest Hour on Friday (4 October) in response to the devastation, and will donate all publishing royalties.

Tickets will go on sale this Thursday, 10 October. An auction and raffle are also expected to take place, with details to be announced.

“If there’s anything I can do to give back in any way I can I’m always willing to do that”

American country artist Sturgill Simpson will also play in support of victims, with his 21 October show at Cary, N.C.’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre (7,000) to benefit the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund.

Simpson was originally due to play Asheville’s ExploreAsheville.com Arena (7,200) as part of his 2024 fall tour but cancelled the show following extreme flooding across the city. He will now perform two nights in Cary, with tickets for the benefit show going on sale starting Thursday.

Asheville’s arena has also suspended live performances this month, cancelling stops from Ray Lamontagne & Gregory Alan Isakov, Knocked Loose, Goose, and others. It, among other venues like South Carolina’s Bon Secours Wellness Arena (15,000), has been utilised as shelter and gathering spaces for the communities affected.

Other artists are also pitching in. Tennessee native Dolly Parton announced a $1 million (£762k) donation for recovery efforts, which could reportedly take years.

“God has been good to me and so has the public, and I feel that if there’s anything I can do to give back in any way I can I’m always willing to do that. I want to feel like I’m doing my part,” Parton said in a press conference on Saturday (5 October).

Over the weekend, American hardcore band Converge released a live album in support of the victims, with all proceeds to be donated to Mutual Aid Disaster Relief.

Hurricane Helene also forced the cancellation of a series of events across the region, including the final days of both the debut edition of Alabama’s South Star Festival and Kentucky’s Louder Than Life. Impending storm Hurricane Milton, which has rapidly intensified to a Category 5 storm, is set to descend on Flordia in the coming days.

“Weather is getting more and more severe and you never know what is going to happen”

Severe weather has become an increasingly common issue in the live music ecosystem, with insurance premiums spiking as a result. Panellists at Croatia’s SHIP Conference spoke about the knock-on effects during a discussion about the financial impacts of weather last month.

“Weather is getting more and more severe and you never know what is going to happen. We just need to make sure we prepare ourselves the best we can in advance and assess it year by year,” said Barbora Bodnárová, booking manager at Pohoda Festival (SK). This year’s edition of the Slovakian festival was curtailed after a storm-induced tent collapse injured 29 attendees.

Parts of Europe are still reeling from the impacts of Storm Boris, which unleashed severe flooding across parts of Romania, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary last month. Multiple gigs across the affected countries were cancelled as a result of the storm surge.

Last week, leading Austrain promoter Barracuda Music GmbH announced a benefit concert in support of the flooding victims, to take place at Wiener Neustadt’s Arena Nova (5,000). The event, scheduled for 26 October, will feature Austrian artists Seiler & Speer, Wanda, Christina Stürmer, and more.

All proceeds from the concert will be donated to Austria Helps Austria, with donations to be distributed among a handful of local aid organisations.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Dolly Parton has suggested that she is retired from “full-blown” touring in a new interview.

The 76-year-old, who last toured in 2016, tells Pollstar that she wants to spend more time at home with her husband, but does not rule out playing “special shows” in the future.

“I do not think I will ever tour again, but I do know I’ll do special shows here and there, now and then,” she says. “Maybe do a long weekend of shows, or just a few shows at a festival. But I have no intention of going on a full-blown tour anymore. I’ve done that my whole life, and it takes so much time and energy.

“I like to stay a little closer to home with my husband. We’re getting older now, and I don’t want to be gone for four or five weeks at a time. Something could happen. I would not feel right about that, if I were gone and somebody needed me. Or I would feel bad if I had to leave a tour if somebody got sick at home and needed me and then I had to walk out on the fans.”

“You can do special shows in special ways. I will be doing some of that”

The country music legend says she hopes to stay connected with her fans in other ways.

“I don’t ever feel separated from my fans because in this high-tech world, you can be right with them,” she says. “You can do special shows in special ways. I will be doing some of that. But you’ve got to work for weeks to work up a great new show, a new tour they haven’t seen.

“It takes months to actually plan a tour, as far as booking dates and all that. Then you’ve got to be gone for all that time, too. It’s more involved than people have any idea. You really need a year, and certainly six months, to plan a great tour, just preparing to get ready to go hit the road. So you can’t just go out and do a few shows, you really have to commit to doing enough shows to make all that time and effort pay off.”

Parton, whose international agent is UTA’s Neil Warnock, singles out her Glastonbury 2014 legends slot – which attracted one of the biggest crowds in the festival’s history – as one of the highlights of her career, saying it “really stands out”.

“That’s as close as I’ve felt to being a rock star, was at that Glastonbury Festival”

“I was scared to death to do that show,” she says. “I didn’t think that was really my audience because I do a lot of talking, I do a lot of songs that tell stories and I know they love to go to have a big time! I thought they just wanted the music to just go steady with no let-up; but when I did it, I was absolutely amazed.

“When I was talking and telling the stories and singing the songs that I thought they would not be interested in, they were all standing on their feet. They were so respectful and it was such a huge success. So many people came, that I was really adored and felt honoured and emotional about that whole thing.

“You do remember things that stand out like that. They did know who I was. And I thought, these people are not going to be that familiar with my music because, you know, it’s country and all that. But they were! That’s as close as I’ve felt to being a rock star, was at that Glastonbury Festival.”

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.