There’s a reason Strings are taking the country by storm and selling out arenas everywhere. His acoustic music is rooted in bluegrass, but brings in elements of rock, jam and metal. His guitar playing, as well as the musicality of his bandmates, is clear and precise, but never sacrifices emotion for precision. Upon its release in October, his new album,Prayers on the highwaybecame the first bluegrass set to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Top Album Sales chart since 2002. He built on that set with the closing song, “Seven Days in County”, but the highlight of the evening was his tribute to his musical hero and NC legend Doc Watson with a moving cover of “Train That Carried My Girl from Town,” which allowed each member of his band to stretch out. It was an invigorating set that wowed the crowd and, without a doubt, brought new fans to Strings.

Church is known for doing covers, but it’s been several years since he composed such a diverse mix of songs that influenced him as he did toward the end of his moving, stripped-down 85-minute solo set. . Midway through his autobiography “Mistress Named Music,” he dove into a 10-song medley of his childhood influences: Ronnie Milsap’s “Smoky Mountain Rain,” Bob Seger’s “Against the Wind,” “Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding. “Pour Some Sugar on Me” by Def Leppard, “My Girl” by The Temptations (which he said was his father’s favorite song); “And It Stoned Me” by Van Morrison, “Theme from Dukes of Hazzard (Good ‘Ol Boys)” by Waylon Jennings, “Neon Moon” by Brooks & Dunn, “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond (which received the highest response more enthusiastic) and Billy “The man at the piano” by Joël. It was endearing in a setting full of emotion.

Church and Combs felt strongly that one of North Carolina’s most popular artists, James Taylor, should be part of the concert. The troubadour’s enduring catalog of beautifully crafted songs, delivered by his warm, soothing voice, is still as powerful today as it was 50 years ago and seems tailor-made (every pun intended) for the cause, in especially the poignancy of “Fire & Rain,” the supportive optimism of “You’ve Got a Friend” and, of course, North Carolina’s unofficial anthem, “Carolina in My Mind.” -been North Carolina anymore, but Taylor still feels like the beating heart of the state every time he opens his mouth to sing.

The fact that several stars showed up for what were essentially glorified cameos, traveling great distances to bring a few songs, speaks volumes about the cause and the respect their fellow artists have for Combs and Church. Sheryl Crow joined Church for “Picture,” his 2001 hit with Kid Rock (Church admitted he’d never sung the song in his life), then delivered sprightly versions of “If It Makes You Happy.” and “Every Day is A Winding.” Road.” Then, Keith Urban spent his birthday helping the cause by singing “Blue Ain’t Your Color” and “Wasted Time” (with an awesome break where he used the body of the guitar and the mic as drums) before that Church joined him for their 2013 collaboration, “Raise ‘Em Up.” Urban’s wife, Nicole Kidman, took the stage to wish him a happy birthday. Likewise, Combs brought out Bailey Zimmerman, who sang his breakthrough hit “Rock and a Hard Place,” and the Avett Brothers, who canceled their own arena show to take advantage of it. Additionally, Rice, Parmalee and McCreery each performed two songs between sets as headliners. poster This kept the show varied and moving, but also contributed to the “we’re all in this together” vibe of the evening.

Most people are proud of their home state (hopefully), but Tar Heels take particular pride, whether it’s the state’s natural beauty, from the Outer Banks to the Smokey Mountains, and the prowess of college sports teams and, of course, barbecue. One of the highlights of the evening was each North Carolina artist performing a song they had written about their love for their (and my) home state. Church and Parmalee performed their namesake track “Carolina”, Rice sang “Carolina Can”, Taylor performed “Carolina in My Mind” and McCreery brought huge cheers with “Carolina to Me” with his memorable line, “Everything that’s Heaven to Me.” you are Caroline to me. The show ended with Combs and Church playing Church’s version of “Carolina,” where they were joined by the artists who remained around, including Rice, Parmalee, McCreery, Avett Brothers and Zimmerman.

Even when she’s not in the building, Dolly Parton still manages to sprinkle her angel dust. After Church’s shooting, co-hosts Caleb Pressley and Marty Smith announced that Parton had pledged $1 million to “my neighbors in North Carolina” through the $100 million Bezos Courage and Civility Award that Jeff Bezos awarded it to him in 2022 to distribute as he sees fit. This is in addition to the $1 million she already donated to relief efforts three weeks ago. Parton wasn’t there, but another legend was. The stadium exploded with thunderous applause when Randy Travis, accompanied by his wife Mary, appeared on stage. Her 2013 stroke left her largely unable to speak, so she gave an emotional speech about her drive from her hometown of Marshville, North Carolina, to Nashville, but about the fact that N.C. was still at home.

Nothing exemplified the spirit of the night more than when Combs brought up Wesko, a little-known singer-songwriter from North Carolina whose song “Helene” Combs discovered on TikTok by hearing clip after clip showing the destruction and despair brought by the hurricane. Combs ceded the stage (and his guitar) to Wesko to perform a heartbreaking song that graphically describes devastation through lines such as “I saw a mother standing on top of her house, a baby in her arms so that they floated down/I saw my brother clinging to this limb like a crucified Peter with a will to live/The smell of death lingers on the mountainside, all that’s left are the tears that he I am left to cry/We will sit here waiting for the Lord to come until we run out of water and we will definitely meet him. A brutal and necessary moment of truth in a night of well-being.

While co-organizer Church played a stripped-down solo set filled with hits and covers, Combs put on a full-scale show with a full band and an incredibly high set. Combs, a two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year, reeled off hit after hit, thrilling audiences with tunes such as the sexy and thrilling “The Kind of Love We Make,” the exhilarating “Loving on You,” the nail-biting ” Beer Never Broke.” My Heart” and its latest number 1, “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” from the film Twists. His hour-long sets and Church’s complemented each other perfectly. Church joined Combs for their first-ever live performance of their 2020 No. 1, “Does to Me” (the duo had planned to perform it at the 2020 CMA Awards but couldn’t due to COVID) and smiles on their faces two faces. as they played together and realized they had pulled off an awesome night full of great music and goodwill, it was pure joy.