Eric Church and Luke Combs Reflect On Concert For Carolina As They Accept CRS 2025 Artist Humanitarian Award
“This was the right thing to do,” Combs said.

Luke Combs and Eric Church; Photo by Andrew Wendowski
When Eric Church and Luke Combs teamed up for Concert For Carolina to support Hurricane Helene relief efforts, it wasn’t for fame, headlines, or recognition—it was simply the right thing to do. So when the Country Radio Broadcasters (CRB) honored them as co-recipients of the CRS 2025 Artist Humanitarian Award, they weren’t quite sure how to feel about it.
“I’m incredibly uncomfortable with an award like this,” Church admitted on Friday (Feb. 21) while standing beside fellow North Carolina native Luke Combs at Country Radio Seminar (CRS) as they accepted the honor.
“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,” he continued.

The pair pulled off the impossible with their Concert For Carolina benefit concert, putting together a massive stadium show in just a few weeks. An event of this caliber, with 82,000 attendees, would typically take a year to plan, however, thanks to their efforts, the show was a huge success and raised more than $24 million for the people impacted by Hurricane Helene.
During their CRS acceptance speech, Combs reflected on the moment they began planning the show, emphasizing that moving forward with it was never in question, despite the challenges of organizing it on such short notice.
“This was the right thing to do… Me and Eric are both from that region of North Carolina that was most heavily impacted and that morning we were on the phone by putting the show together and there was never once a thought that we weren’t going to do this,” he said.
Combs admitted that this experience was something that would ultimately define his career.

“It will be a moment that I’ll never forget,” he promised, holding back tears.
Church gave credit to Combs for calling him with the idea of putting the show together and shared that of all the shows of his career thus far, Concert For Carolina will remain one of the most memorable.
“I’ve 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,” he explained.

When it came time to choose this year’s recipient of the CRS 2025 Artist Humanitarian Award, the board didn’t hesitate—the decision was obvious.
“Eric Church and Luke Combs’ love for their home state has been nothing short of inspiring,” CRB Awards Committee Chair Beverlee Brannigan previously shared. “Their dedication to helping North Carolina recover after Hurricane Helene and their ongoing efforts show just how much they care. This award is a heartfelt recognition of their commitment, hard work, and genuine compassion for the people of North Carolina. Eric and Luke, we’re proud to honor you.”
Established in 1990, the CRS Artist Humanitarian Award aims to recognize country artists whose philanthropic efforts have had a valuable impact on the cause they support. Past recipients include Kane Brown, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, and more.
Lauren Jo Black, a University of Central Florida graduate, has immersed herself in the world of country music for over 15 years. In 2008, she co-founded CountryMusicIsLove, eventually selling it to a major record label in 2015. Following the rebranding of the website to Sounds Like Nashville, Black served as Editor-in-Chief for two and a half years. Currently, she assumes the role of Editor-in-Chief at Country Now and oversees Country Now’s content and digital footprint. Her extensive experience also encompasses her previous role as a Country Music Expert Writer for Answers.com and her work being featured on Forbes.com. She’s been spotlighted among Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. Black also spent time in front of the camera as host of Country Now Live, which brought live music directly to fans in 2021 when the majority of concerts were halted due to the pandemic. During this time, she hosted 24 weeks of live concerts via Country Now Live on Twitch with special guests such as Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Jordan Davis, Brett Young, and Jon Pardi. Over the course of her career, she has had the privilege of conducting interviews with some of the industry’s most prominent stars, including Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, and many others. Lauren Jo Black is a longtime member of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.