Charlotte Musicians Launch DIY Drives to Aid in Helene Recovery

Everyone in the mountainous regions of western North Carolina remembers where they were when Hurricane Helene swept through, decimating entire towns, submerging areas like Asheville’s River Arts District underwater, and leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power or running water.

As of Oct. 14, two weeks after the fateful storm arrived in western NC by way of the Gulf of Mexico, North Carolina had confirmed 95 deaths due to Helene, with plenty of folks still missing.

While such widespread devastation can be hard to grasp, many in the Piedmont region have tried their best to meet the ever-changing needs of their neighbors to the west.

Within Charlotte’s music scene, the reaction was almost instantaneous. On September 28, as the scope of what people in western North Carolina were facing became more clear, Bryan Pierce, showrunner for Snug Harbor’s popular Bone Snugs ‘N Harmony karaoke event series, put out a call on multiple social media accounts.

“If anyone finds out how to get supplies up to where they are needed, please let me know. I know a few people that are stranded up in various parts of the mountains, that need supplies as well & I’d like to help whoever and however I can. Have truck, will travel.”

Along with contributions from Pierce himself and Snug staff members, patrons and other supporters who saw the call to action brought in supplies ranging from diapers to water, food, paper materials, and the like. By Oct. 1, supplies filled the areas near the booths and the soundboard in the venerable Plaza Midwood venue.

From that point on, utilizing his truck and a trailer, he and some fellow volunteers were able to reach Spruce Pine, Little Switzerland and other areas to drop off aid and offer their help in recovery. The efforts showcased the DIY spirit that has made Snug Harbor such a staple in Charlotte’s independent music scene.

Another of Charlotte’s legacy music figures, Andy Fenstermaker, also known as Andy the Doorbum, has been along for some of those rides, at times splintering off to make trips of his own to locations desperately needing supplies.

Read more: Charlotte’s Favorite Doorbum Passes Through Another Milestone (2019)

Andy has deep roots in the Appalachian region, with family still living in the area. When asked what he was seeing, Andy was quick to answer, “I’d say it’s way worse than what you’re seeing, most likely.”

“Some places were relatively untouched,” he continued. “It depends where, like so much water was up there and ran [through]. It was like a tsunami had come down some of these valleys, and you can drive through some places and it looks like hardly anything happened, maybe a couple trees fell down. And then you can turn a corner, and it looks like the end of the world.”

Fenstermaker said he began by focusing on the harder to reach spaces where supplies weren’t getting through, connecting with contacts in western NC to stay up to date on which roads had opened and where it was safe to travel through.

He said the needs change daily, sometimes before he can compile the supplies he had on his list, so it’s important to know exactly what the needs are and where.

“I’ve been establishing contacts with people on the ground, mostly at volunteer fire departments, various different supply hubs or places where people were trying to get stuff to people, so that I have a verified contact directly involved in the process, so that I can call them and I know that what I’m bringing is something that they need … it can change more than once in a day.”

As the recovery efforts continue, we asked how Charlotteans can help, to which Fenstermaker insisted that organization is key.

“If you want to help, if you have specific skills that you can offer, try to find a place, someone who’s on the ground doing those things. Or, if you can donate supplies and want to take them up, find a contact on the ground involved in that process and make sure that what you’re offering is specific.

“If you have money to give, give it to someone that you trust, or some organization that you trust. I would strongly encourage community-based mutual aid organizations, because they have less administrative fees. They’re largely volunteers, and there’s a lot less red tape. They’re getting things directly to people much quicker. I’ve seen that be the most effective resource.”

As folks like Pierce and Fenstermaker have launched their own DIY drives, other businesses and organizations in Charlotte have also stepped up. Sites like Town Brewing, Divine Barrel Brewing Co., and Great Wagon Distillery have opened to drop-offs during hours of operation.

During its its annual Confluence Music Conference from Oct. 9-11, Music Everywhere Charlotte partnered with companies such as Live Nation, iHeart Media, Lovin’ Life Music Festival and Maxx Music, all of which donated tickets that were then raffled off during Confluence to benefit the NC Disaster Relief Fund.

There have also been a slate of benefit shows announced, with the biggest one planned for Bank of America Stadium on Oct. 26. Huntersville native Luke Combs, who came up playing music in Boone, announced the Concert for Carolina shortly after the hurricane swept through, bringing on Eric Church, The Avett Brothers, James Taylor, Sheryl Crow and others. The stadium show sold out not long after tickets went up for sale.

Charlotte-based Maxx Music has also held multiple benefits, with a portion of the proceeds from the Oct. 17 show at The Amp Ballantyne by the Steep Canyon Rangers and Ashes & Arrows, both of which are based in the Asheville area, going to BeLoved Asheville. Early October concerts by Ben Rector with Rayland Baxter and Trampled by Turtles with Houndmouth led to more than $15,000 in donations to western North Carolina recovery agencies.

“There has been so much devastation to Western North Carolina and we know that every bit helps in the recovery,” MaxxMusic owner and founder Gregg McCraw said. “Steep Canyon Rangers are based in Asheville and Brevard, and Ashes & Arrows are also from the Asheville area. They’ve felt this more than we can imagine. We’re all North Carolina Strong these days and doing what we can for those affected.”

On Oct. 18, the North Carolina Folk Festival announced a a Western NC Benefit Concert featuring Steep
Canyon Rangers and Holler Choir, scheduled for the Steven Tanger Center for the Performing
Arts in Greensboro on Nov. 7, with 100% of net proceeds donated to the NC Arts Foundation Disaster Relief Fund. General ticket sales for that show will go on sale on Oct. 22.

News cycles can be so short these days, but our western North Carolina neighbors are just starting their recovery process, which will take months and in some cases years to heal, restart, and return to a somewhat normal daily existence.

NC State’s NC Disaster Information Center offers updated information about Hurricane Helene recovery including ways you can help. Visit NC’s website also includes an interactive Travel Advisory map that depicts which towns across western North Carolina are open for business and which towns and main highways remain closed. Ryan Pitkin contributed reporting to this story.