Eric Church, Luke Combs Receive Humanitarian Award For Hurricane Helene Benefit Concert

Country hitmakers Eric Church and Luke Combs earned industry recognition last Friday for hosting a record-breaking concert to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Helene.

Country Radio Broadcasters – a Nashville-based trade organization representing airwave gatekeepers – honored Combs and Church with its annual Artist Humanitarian Award. The duo accepted the trophy during the last day of Country Radio Seminar, a yearly convention for broadcasters, recording industry representatives and artists hosted in downtown Nashville.

Launched in 1990, the Artist Humanitarian Award recognizes a singer “whose philanthropic efforts have significantly improved the effectiveness and impact of the causes they support,” according to the Country Radio Seminar website. Past recipients include Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan and Kane Brown.

Last October, Church and Combs co-hosted a “Concert For Carolina,” a one-night show in Charolette, North Carolina, held in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which caused deadly destruction in western North Carolina and east Tennessee, among other regions. The lineup included James Taylor, Billy Strings, Keith Urban, Sheryl Crow, The Avett Brothers and more.

The event helped Combs and Church raise roughly $24 million for hurricane relief.

“This was the right thing to do, puttin’ the show on,” said Combs, a native of Asheville, North Carolina. “There was never once a thought that we weren’t gonna do this.”

Church, who was raised in Caldwell County, North Carolina, added: “I’m incredibly uncomfortable with an award like this. A mentor of mine said a long time ago that you should never think about what you get from doing the right thing. You should just do the right thing. And … this was the right thing.”

Country Radio Seminar took place Feb. 19-21 at the Omni Nashville Hotel. Events included an artist-on-artist conversation between Church and Jelly Roll, the New Faces of Country Music emerging talent showcase and label-sponsored performances.