AUSTIN, TX — “Harvey Can’t Mess with Texas: A Benefit Concert for Hurricane Harvey Relief” is set for Sept. 22 at the Frank Erwin Center from 7-11 p.m. ET. The four-hour concert will be broadcast on 11 Texas TEGNA stations and stream internationally on YouTube’s Texas Strong channel from 9-10 p.m. Central.
Featured performers will include Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Lyle Lovett, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Leon Bridges, Ryan Bingham, Ha*Ash and Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. Celebrity guests including Matthew McConaughey, Renée Zellweger, Luke Wilson and Dan Rather are also slated to appear, accompanied by Austin’s mayor Steve Adler, Houston chief of police Art Acevedo and other VIPs. Charlie Sexton is serving as musical director, and Asleep at the Wheel is house band for the event.
Organizers say proceeds from the tickets, which went on sale Sept. 13 at a price range from $30-$199, will benefit Rebuild Texas Fund, created by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation in collaboration with the OneStar Foundation. They can be purchased at RebuildTX.org. Google will match the first $500,000 of donations through a pledge challenge
The funds raised will augment what has already been raised to support hurricane victims as they rebuild their homes and their lives through other concerts and TV events. They include the Hand in Hand telethon that aired Sept. 12 and raised $44 million in one day – an event that, while organized in response to Hurricane Harvey, was quickly expanded to cover victims of Hurricane Irma in Florida and the Caribbean.
For more details on Hand in Hand, go to www.plsn.com/main-news/23798
