No stranger to charitable causes in his native Asheville, North Carolina, with his annual Christmas Jam concert, Warren Haynes will once again lend a musical hand to help out his hometown following the devastation left behind by Hurricane Helene last month. Haynes will host a Nov. 24 benefit concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City to raise funds for disaster relief in both North Carolina and Florida.
“I’ve been talking to everybody and it’s just crazy. It’s heartbreaking. Who could ever imagine that Western North Carolina could be affected like this?” Haynes tells Rolling Stone.
Dubbed “Soulshine,” the concert will feature Haynes and his band, Dave Matthews Band, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, and Goose, along with special guests Trey Anastasio, Robert Randolph, Joe Russo, Trombone Shorty, Mavis Staples, Susan Tedeschi, and Derek Trucks.
“The music community has really risen to the occasion,” Haynes says of the benefit shows popping up across the country to provide aid to flood victims in North Carolina and Florida following the one-two punch of Helene and Hurricane Milton. On Saturday, Eric Church and Luke Combs headlined a massive benefit in Charlotte, raising more than $24 million in relief.
According to a release, net proceeds will benefit the Soulshine Concert Fund at the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, which will benefit Habitat for Humanity’s 2024 Hurricane Recovery fund and will also support a variety of non-profits on the ground in North Carolina and Florida.
More than a month since record-breaking flooding and high winds tore through Western North Carolina, many areas are still without clean water. With 96 killed as a result of Helene in WNC alone, numerous mountain communities were wiped out. Timelines for a return to normalcy are either years away or unknown at this point.
“I’m just so thankful that all of our friends in the [music] industry are going above and beyond,” Haynes adds. “It makes sense that we’d do something and it’s shaping up a little more each day.”
It’s been a whirlwind of emotions for Haynes — who will release his new solo album, Million Voices Whisper, on Nov. 1 — as he struggles to comprehend the destruction of certain parts of Asheville, a city his 87-year-old mother, young brother Brian, and many members of his extended family still call home.
“Most of my family was relocated until just a few days ago,” Haynes says. “Weeks without power or cell service. My mom is finally back home and has water again — she’s extremely happy to be home.”
Haynes says his mother’s home overlooks the heavily decimated River Arts District, a beloved creative beehive of studios and galleries along the ancient French Broad River. Haynes brother also owns a vinyl record shop there, Records in the RAD, which was flooded out.
“The inventory is gone, but they managed to get most of the artwork out,” Haynes says. “I got a text from my mom today saying they were down there working on the store now.”
Even though Haynes’ heart is heavy, he finds comfort and solace in the resolve that’s at the core of what it means to be from Southern Appalachia. “People are very community-oriented and help each other in Asheville and Western North Carolina,” says Haynes. “Strangers helping strangers. I was raised to have a strong sense of community. It’s always been kind of instilled in me.”
General onsale for “Soulshine,” produced by Dayglo Presents in conjunction with Live Nation, begins on Friday, Nov. 1, at 10 a.m. ET.
