North Carolina Native Eric Church Surprise Releases New Song, “Darkest Hour,” To Help Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts
Eric Church was one of the first country stars to speak out after Hurricane Helene hit the U.S. on Thursday, September 26. The storm traveled hundreds of miles, leaving devastation in its wake across the country’s Southeastern region.
Church’s home state of North Carolina was one of the states hit the hardest by Helene.
“I’m devastated by the destruction in the mountains of western North Carolina,” Church said in a statement on social media after the storm. “These are our family members, friends, and neighbors.”
Church said the whole region “is in dire need of help.”
The singer shared a new update around midnight on Friday (October 4). In a video message, Church announced the surprise release of his new song, “Darkest Hour.”
Church revealed that he recently recorded the song and felt compelled to release it now:
“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,” he said.
Church Signs Away All Rights & Royalties From “Darkest Hour” To North Carolina
But beyond raising awareness for Hurricane Helene relief, Church gave “Darkest Hour” to his home state. As he explained, he signed away all of the song’s rights and royalties to help North Carolina’s recovery efforts.
“Not only for now but forever,” Church said. “It’s no longer mine. It’ll be theirs. All the proceeds, all the money, all the future money.”
Additionally, Church said he’s been helping with “boots on the ground” efforts to address immediate needs. But he hopes “Darkest Hour” can help people in the long term.
“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,” Church said. “This song goes to my home, North Carolina, now and forever.”
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Country Stars Jump In To Help In The Aftermath Of Hurricane Helene
In addition to Church, other country stars have stepped up to help those affected by Hurricane Helene.
Fellow North Carolina native Scotty McCreery shared a list of organizations he feels are doing “amazing work” helping with relief efforts. He also donated to these organizations himself.
Another North Carolina-born country artist, Luke Combs, shared his intentions to do something to help his home state through this difficult time.
Miranda Lambert donated $100,000 through her MuttNation Foundation to help pets and animals affected by the hurricane.
Additionally, East Tennessee native Morgan Wallen donated $500,000 to the American Red Cross to help with relief efforts.
Now, Eric Church is also jumping in to help. Listen to his new song, “Darkest Hour,” which benefits his home state of North Carolina, in the audio clip below.
You can also head here to see a list of organizations helping with Hurricane Helene relief efforts.