'Loretta Lynn's Friends: Hometown Rising' Flood Relief Benefit Concert Continues To Raise Funds Following The Show

Urban and Kidman autographing a guitar for auction (Photo: Chris Hollo)

"LORETTA LYNN's Friends: Hometown Rising" flood relief benefit concert, held last night (9/13) at the GRAND OLE OPRY HOUSE in NASHVILLE, was a success and is still raising funds even after the two-hour show.

LYNN put the event together to support the community of HUMPHREYS COUNTY after devastating floods rushed through rural TENNESSEE on SATURDAY, AUGUST 21st. The area got more than 15 inches of rain over a six-hour period, leading to flash flooding that took the lives of 20 people – including the LYNN family’s own longtime ranch hand, WAYNE SPEARS (NET NEWS 8/23). All of the concert proceeds directly support UNITED WAY OF HUMPHREYS COUNTY .

Country stars GARTH BROOKS, TRISHA YEARWOOD, LUKE BRYAN, LUKE COMBS, BRELAND, LITTLE BIG TOWN, REBA McENTIRE, BRITTNEY SPENCER and KEITH URBAN made up the star-studded lineup. The night was hosted by SIRIUSXM's STORME WARREN and APPLE MUSIC's NADA. All artists shared emotional tributes during their performances, reflecting on the devastation and tributing the lives lost.

The show also featured recorded appearances from TRACY LAWRENCE, CARLY PEARCE, THOMAS RHETT, KID ROCK, DARIUS RUCKER and CARRIE UNDERWOOD.

A spontaneous guitar donation signed by URBAN, his wife NICOLE KIDMAN (who made a surprise appearance) and BRELAND was auctioned off during a commercial break, along with two autographed show posters that went for $20,000 in a live auction earlier in the night. Bidding for the guitar peaked at $36,000, and BROOKS decided to double it for $75,000.

“Thank y’all so much for being here tonight,” said McENTIRE. “It means the world to LORETTA and all the folks west of town. I hope we don’t ever have to go through this again. I hope the next time we gather like this it’s for a fun, joyous time. But let’s make it a fun, joyous time and celebrate the ones who are surviving, send the ones on home that have left us, and we’ll continue on with good Country music and families and friends and neighbors joining together to help each other.”

“This situation compares to nothing like we’ve ever been through before,” said HUMPHREYS COUNTY SHERIFF CHRIS DAVIS. “We’ve still got a long way to go. It’s gonna take everything that we can put together to keep moving forward. When tragedy or something happens and the rubber meets the road, our people come out. We had a lot of agencies come in. It didn’t matter what patch you wore, what badge you wore, everybody found a place and helped. You start hearing the stories of the people that you’re around every day, and to see the overwhelming love and support that came out was amazing, truly amazing.”

To donate to ongoing flood relief efforts, click here, or text TNFLOODRELIEF to 44321. Commemorative show posters from the evening are available to purchase here, with proceeds benefitting the cause.

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