ERIC CHURCH STEPS UP IN HOME STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA’S “DARKEST HOUR” (AUDIO)

Artist: Eric Church

BANNER ELK, N.C. – To provide immediate relief following the devastation of Hurricane Helene while also providing ongoing funds to support a more resilient future for North Carolina, Eric Church announces he is signing over all of his publishing royalties for his new song to the people of North Carolina. The song, Church’s first new solo release in over three years, is titled “Darkest Hour” and is now available everywhere. Listen HERE.

Eric Church – “Darkest Hour (Redeeming Helene)” Audio Intro: “Hey everybody, it’s Eric Church. This is my song, Darkest Hour.”

Eric Church – “Darkest Hour (Redeeming Helene) Audio Story: “The Darkest Hour isn’t just another song. It’s a story for the unsung heroes, the people who show up when the world’s falling apart. When the night’s at its blackest, this is for those who are holding the light, guiding the lost and pulling us through. It’s for the ones who are standing tall when we’re all low, reminding us that even in your darkest hour, there’s still a way forward.”

Eric Church – “Darkest Hour (Redeeming Helene): Thoughts On Devastation and Raising Awareness: “You know, the area affected by Hurricane Helene, the mountains of Western North Carolina, is an area that I spend half the year in now. I grew up there, but we spend four or five months there. And it’s just heartbreaking and devastating to see what’s happened there to people’s lives. There’s communities that are… literally just gone, where the waters came through or just catastrophic wind damage, water damage. And the community, I live in there in the summer, was greatly affected. And we had a lot of people there that their lives were affected. These are my neighbors, these are my friends, these are my community members and family members. And it’s just, it’s a devastating thing. And this song, Darkest Hour, was the best way I could think to try to help. We’ve been helping with boots on the ground stuff and trying to do stuff, but this is something that will live beyond just the immediate recovery. And this is a thing that’s, it’s gonna take a long time. This is not a quick thing to fix. And hopefully this song forever will be able to contribute to that. And if nothing else, raise awareness for what’s… what’s happening in the mountains there, as well as East Tennessee.”

Eric Church – “Darkest Hour (Redeeming Helene): ChiefCares.com Audio: “Hey this is Eric Church. I’m devastated by the hurricane destruction in the mountains of western North Carolina, East Tennessee, and other parts of the country. These are our family members. They’re our friends, they’re our neighbors, and they’re in dire need of help. If you’re able to help others in this time of need, you can find ways to donate today at ChiefCares.com.”

“From Western North Carolina, East Tennessee, Upstate South Carolina, parts of Georgia and even Florida which took a direct hit, there are so many places that were impacted. Specifically in the area that I’m from, the mountains of Western North Carolina were devastated. There are places that are just biblically gone. These are our family members, they’re our friends, they’re our neighbors – and they’re in dire need of help,” reflects Church. “And I’ve been in the studio for a while, trying some different things and exploring creativity. I had this song that I’d written, and the line that struck me in light of the recent devastation was ‘I’ll come running,’ because there are a lot of people out there right now who are in their darkest hour and they need people to come running. We were going to wait to release music until next year, but it just didn’t feel right to wait with this song. Sometimes you give songs their moment and sometimes they find their own moment.

“This song, ‘Darkest Hour,’ was the best way I could think to try to help. We’ve been helping with boots on the ground efforts, but this is something that will live beyond just the immediate recovery. This is not a quick thing to fix, so hopefully ‘Darkest Hour’ will be able to contribute to that for a long time to come. This song goes to my home, North Carolina, now and forever.”

He continues, “‘Darkest Hour’ is a song dedicated to the unsung heroes, the people who show up when the world’s falling apart. This is for the folks who show up in the hardest times, offering a hand when it’s most needed, and standing tall when others can’t. Even in your darkest hour, they come running. When the night’s at its blackest, this is for those who are holding the light, guiding the lost and pulling us through. The message of the song specifically in this time is about Hurricane Helene and the people that need help, but in a broader view, it’s about any challenging times that we have in our life, which we’ll all have. And it’s always important to know that in your darkest hour, there are people that will come running, there are people that will help. And I think it’s also important to be one of the people that go running when other people need help.

For additional audio content surrounding Eric Church’s new song “Darkest Hour (Helene Edit) click HERE.

About Eric Church

A seven-time ACM Award winner, four-time CMA Award winner (including the highest honor for Entertainer of the Year) and 10-time GRAMMY nominee, Church has amassed a passionate fan base around the globe known as the Church Choir, plus a critically acclaimed catalog of music. He is currently working on new music as the follow up to his most recent chart-topping project, the Heart & Soul triple album, which featured the results of a marathon session during which he spent nearly a month writing and recording a song per day while sequestered in rural North Carolina. This followed his Gold-certified Desperate Man, which earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Country Album (his third nod in the category) and prior releases including the Platinum-certified Sinners Like Me (“How ’Bout You,” “Guys Like Me”), Carolina (“Smoke a Little Smoke,” “Love Your Love the Most”) and Mr. Misunderstood (“Record Year,” “Round Here Buzz”), the Double-Platinum certified The Outsiders(“Like a Wrecking Ball,” “Talladega”) and the 3x Platinum-certified Chief (“Springsteen,” “Drink In My Hand”), as well as 36 Gold, Platinum and multi-Platinum certified songs. Church is also a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets, a co-owner of the iconic Field & Stream brand, has his own SiriusXM music channel, “Eric Church Outsiders Radio,” his own liquor offering, Whiskey JYPSI, and recently opened Chief’s, a six-story venue on Nashville’s famed lower Broadway.

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Media Contacts for Eric Church:

Ebie McFarland | Janet Buck

Essential Broadcast Media, LLC

ebie@ebmediapr.com | janet@ebmediapr.com

Leigh Malleus | Jodi Dawes
EMI Records Nashville
leigh.malleus@umusic.com | jodi.dawes@umusic.com