Berklee to Hold Blue Ridge Benefit Concert for Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts

Berklee to Hold Blue Ridge Benefit Concert for Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts The event, featuring headliners Langhorne Slim and Kashus Culpepper, takes place on Wednesday, November 20, at Brighton Music Hall.

By

Tori Donahue

November 12, 2024

Americana artist and Berklee student Kyle Ray conceptualized the Blue Ridge Benefit Concert: In Support of Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts on November 20.

Kelly Davidson

Country crooner Kashus Culpepper will be one of two featured headliners for the Blue Ridge Benefit Concert: In Support of Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts at Brighton Music Hall.

Cole Calfee

Berklee will host a fundraising concert, Blue Ridge Benefit Concert: In Support of Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts, at Brighton Music Hall on Wednesday, November 20, at 7:00 p.m. The event, presented by the Berklee Popular Music Institute (BPMI), the Berklee American Roots Music Program, and Americana artist and Berklee student Kyle Ray, will support those affected by Hurricane Helene. Ray, who grew up in an area impacted by the storm, performed as a BPMI featured artist this fall at Bourbon & Beyond in his home state of Kentucky. The concert will feature music from acclaimed singer-songwriter Langhorne Slim, country crooner Kashus Culpepper, bluegrass duo Two Runner, New York City singer-songwriter Diana DeMuth, and Ray himself.

I have family in Eastern Tennessee, and most of my bandmates are from the areas impacted by Helene or have family there, said Ray. The reports we are getting from our loved ones back home are truly horrible. Their homes, businesses, and livelihoods have been devastated. The loss of life, destruction of infrastructure, and lack of resources they are experiencing is deeply upsetting. These are our communities. These are our people.

All proceeds from the event will be donated to local organizations actively supporting Hurricane Helene relief efforts and disaster recovery in Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina.

The care and love Kyle Ray has for his community is inspiring, said Morgan Milardo, managing and artistic director of the BPMI. I am proud to support him, his bandmates, and their friends and families back home in the Blue Ridge Mountain areas of Eastern Tennessee and Western North Carolina. It is a really powerful feeling to be able to use our work at the Berklee Popular Music Institute for a good cause. I am deeply grateful to our featured performers, Crossroads Presents, my colleagues at the Berklee American Roots Program, and our supporting partners from Berklees administrative teams.

Throwing a benefit concert like this means the world to me, added Ray. Knowing that even miles away I can still help my family and community is a comforting feeling, and I'm grateful for those who have made that possible. One of my biggest dreams is to make a difference in this world with the art that I make, and I'm grateful I get to do that starting now, with the people I hold closest.

The Blue Ridge Benefit Concert: In Support of Hurricane Helene Relief Efforts will be held on Wednesday, November 20, at 7:00 p.m. at Brighton Music Hall in Brighton, Massachusetts. Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased online.

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