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.

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A number of concerts have been cancelled after Storm Boris unleashed severe flooding across central Europe.

The death toll has reached at least 19, with seven confirmed fatalities so far in Romania, five in Austria, four in Poland and three in Czech Republic, with several people missing, and thousands evacuated from their homes.

Elsewhere, Slovakia has declared a state of emergency in the capital Bratislava, while the Hungarian capital Budapest is braced for record high water levels on the River Danube. Italy is also expected to be hit by thunderstorms.

In Vienna, Austria, a headline show by US band Agriculture scheduled for Arena Wien last night (16 September) was called off “due to weather conditions”, although a gig by Peter Fox at Wiener Stadthalle went ahead as planned on Sunday.

Other cancellations include Böhse Onkelz’s 14 September concert at Trabrennbahn, Wels, and televised live music special Starnacht aus der Wachau (Star night from the Wachau), which was planned for 20-21 September. Flooding means the arena site in Rossatzbach must be dismantled.

“Due to the worrying water level of the Danube and the associated official requirements and orders, it is impossible to hold the event safely,” says a statement. “According to the notice, the event site must be cleared… Reconstruction of the event site could not begin until the middle of next week at the earliest and is no longer feasible in terms of time and technology by the planned day of the event.”

Acts lined up for the season finale TV spectacular, which has previously starred the likes of Anastacia and Chris De Burgh, included Andrea Berg, Söhne Mannheims, Patrizio Buanne, the Poxrucker Sisters, Charlien and Aura Dione.

“The weather forecast is so bad that it is not possible to responsibly guarantee that the event would take place”

A source tells IQ the situation is “pretty bad” in the south of Romania but is unaware of any gig cancellations, since the floods have mainly affected small villages – where one local mayor has described the scene as a “catastrophe of epic proportions”.

In Poland, a performance by Shunske Sato and the Wrocław Baroque Orchestra has been relocated from Wrocław to Warsaw as the wave moves towards larger cities from mountainous regions in the south.

Elsewhere, a concert of the Three Sisters in Valečov, Czech Republic has been rescheduled for May 2025.

“The weather forecast is so bad that it is not possible to responsibly guarantee that the event would take place in order, or that it would take place at all,” reports Idnes. “The area is grassy and unroofed, so it could be a problem to get all the equipment there, not to mention the musicians, not to mention the bars.”

David Nguyễn of Rock for People tells IQ that the capital Prague appears to be unaffected at present.

“We just had The Hu [at SaSaZu] three days ago and I think other Prague promoters are doing shows,” he says. “Some people didn’t arrive to the show, so I guess they are from the part of country that is affected by flooding.”

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