Eric Church and Luke Combs have been recognized for their philanthropic efforts. On Friday (Feb. 21), both artists received the CRS 2025 Artist Humanitarian Award at the annual Country Radio Seminar (CRS), held at the Omni Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee.
2025 CRS Artist Humanitarian Award
While the accolade has historically gone to one individual, Church and Combs deserved the award for making a significant impact in 2024, providing relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which devastated western North Carolina and nearby states. Combs and Church, who are North Carolina natives, worked together last October to quickly assist hurricane victims through a co-headlining benefit show dubbed Concert For Carolina.
After just a few weeks of mobilizing the large-scale event (a massive undertaking), and with the help of Panthers and stadium owners David and Nicole Tepper, who donated the venue, the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, the artists successfully raised nearly $25 million for hurricane victims.
Church and Combs Humbly Accept The Honor
Taking turns speaking at the podium at CRS, Church and Combs replayed the moments that led up to that benefit concert and shared their excitement for bringing awareness to the causes they support.
“That morning, we were on the phone back and forth putting the show together, and there was never once a thought that we weren’t going to do this and that it wasn’t going to be something that defines at least my career,” Combs said. “I’m sure this will be a moment I’ll never forget. So, thank you guys for this. It means a lot.”
Church, then, shared a quote given by one of his mentors, saying, “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 in this regard, this was the right thing. I want to thank Luke [and] I still remember the morning that he called, and we talked, and he had the idea before this, it was the genesis of it, and we talked about it a little bit, and we both got working. I played a lot of shows in my career, and that night in Charlotte was top of the list for me as far as special shows. It was the artists that gave creatively their time, the collection of artists, the challenges we had, and the crowd responded to it. It will forever be one of the greatest shows I’ve played.”
Concert For Carolina
The Concert For Carolina, which included Billy Strings and James Taylor as additional co-headliners, and a handful of other guest stars, brought in a crowd of 82,000. Proceeds from the event have been divided equally between Combs and Church’s separate cause of choice to serve as beneficiaries of the money, with Church’s distributed through his Chief Cares Foundation. Combs’s portion of the proceeds went to Samaritan’s Purse, Manna Food Bank, and Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina.
Earlier this week, per a WSOCTV.com report, Church purchased land through Chief Cares for residents of Avery County. Together, he and his wife, Katherine, plan to build at least 40 homes in that area before expanding elsewhere in hopes of providing shelter to victims of the hurricane.
Church Dedicated “Darkest Hour” To The People Of North Carolina
In addition, Church signed over all publishing royalties from his first solo single in over three years, “Darkest Hour,” to the people of North Carolina.
Despite the additional efforts to provide immediate relief in North Carolina, Church and Combs recognize a deep need. Turning his attention back to the Tar Heel State, Church said the re-building process there will be ongoing.
“The people in North Carolina and what’s happened there is not going to be remedied in the next five or 10 years,” Church, who is also working to address long-term needs in the state, such as creating jobs, rebuilding schools, and supporting local businesses, shared. “So I think keeping a focus on it and being cognizant that this is something we’re going to see through because these are the people, this is the salt of the earth people. These are the people that listen to your radio stations. And the radio stations played a big part in this… The station in Asheville was basically being an emergency response for the community… that is what’s unique about country music. That’s what’s unique about country radio. This is the area that we’re the best at. It leads with the heart. So thank you for that and for Luke, and I won’t forget about North Carolina, but thank you.”
Combs and Church join a long list of artists who have become recipients of the CRS Artist Humanitarian Award. The award, established in 1990, has previously gone out to Kane Brown, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, and others.
