Texas Musicians Step Up After Hurricane Harvey

Edie Brickell & New Bohemians had not shared an Austin stage in 17 years when Harvey slammed into Texas on August 25. But as it battered the Gulf Coast and dumped a year’s worth of rain on Houston in days, Dallas native Brickell and her band did what Texans do — they stepped up.

On September 22, along with Brickell’s husband, Paul Simon, they played “Harvey Can’t Mess With Texas: A Benefit Concert for Hurricane Harvey Relief.” It was the biggest of many benefit shows, and the Texas Music Office had to create a spreadsheet to track them.The event reportedly raised at least $2 million for the Rebuild Texas Fund. Brickell and Simon also donated $1 million to recovery efforts. The show also featured James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt and Texans Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Jimmie Vaughan, Asleep at the Wheel and Ruthie Foster, among others. The show was led by music director Charlie Sexton, who produced two of Brickell’s solo albums.

New Bohemians bassist Brad Houser, Alpha Rev frontman Casey McPherson and Miranda Lambert also joined rescue efforts. Houser, a Dallas native, wound up shuttling flood victims home to reclaim whatever belongings they could. Lambert’s MuttNation Foundation transported Houston-area animal-shelter residents to other shelters to make room for Harvey animals. McPherson and his wife, McCall, helped engineer a massive rescue effort, and then created an innovative charitable platform, dubbed #StrengthInNeighbors.

“I was seeing news stories from Houston on the Internet, and below every story there were 20 to 50 comments from people begging for their lives or the lives of their relatives,” McCall explains. Casey decided to head to Houston. He helped rescue some 200 people, guided by McCall and other dispatchers using an interactive map she’d created on which victims or relatives could pin rescue locations. Linked to a Facebook page, it quickly went viral.

Dispatchers as far away as Australia and New Zealand worked round the clock from her map, communicating with the Cajun Navy, helicopter rescuers and even the U.S. Coast Guard, eventually directing 100 civilian rescue boats a day. They stopped counting after saving 2,000 lives. When Casey needed cash, McCall asked Facebook friends for donations — and collected $10,000 in 24 hours.

The patronage-modeled #StrengthInNeighbors allowed donors to chip in or directly sponsor Harvey-devastated Texans. They hope to provide a year of $100-per-month stipends to each accepted applicant; families will get $100 per person. They’ve raised over $100,000 so far, some of it at a September 23 concert featuring Alpha Rev, the Wind and the Wave and Suzanna Choffel that was emceed by their church acquaintance, Matthew McConaughey, who also emceed the previous night’s “Harvey Can’t Mess” benefit.

McConaughey wasn’t the only one hitting multiple stages. Lovett, who lives outside of Houston, also played George Strait’s September 12 benefit with Lambert, Robert Earl Keen and Chris Stapleton as part of the Hand in Hand telethon/concert, which raised $44 million. Lovett and Don Henley also will play Clint Black’s sold-out “Helping Texans: A Hurricane Harvey Benefit” November 28 in Fort Worth. Strait, Stapleton, Carrie Underwood, Garth Brooks and other country stars also will perform November 12 at Nashville’s “Country Rising” concert, to benefit areas stricken by hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.

Black, who grew up in Houston and nearby Katy, hopes to raise at least $1 million — goosed by auction items including the custom Tom Anderson-made Strat seen on the cover of his latest album, On Purpose. The trio and philanthropist Ed Bass will oversee cash distribution.

“It’s really critical how you go about determining where the needs are, and who’s going to fall through the cracks,” Black says. That’s why the McPhersons assure at least 90 percent of #StrengthInNeighbors funds will go to victims. The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation is underwriting Rebuild Texas costs so donations directly benefit those in need. They’ve already raised over $70 million of a targeted $100 million.

Reckless Kelly’s annual softball jam became a Harvey benefit, raising $100,000; other musicians donated show proceeds and volunteered at evacuee shelters. U2’s The Edge pledged to replace lost instruments through his Music Rising charity. 

Casey McPherson now plans to train rescuers for future disasters.

“It changed our lives, and sent us on a whole new trajectory of what it means to be a community,” he says of his experience. “Being a musician, you’re typically really focused on yourself; it’s a very narcissistic business,” he adds. But in the floodwaters, “Nobody cared who you are; they didn’t care who you voted for; they didn’t care the color of your skin. All they cared aobut was that you were there to help.

“Little acts,” McPherson notes, “can change the world.”

Want to donate? Here’s how:

#StrengthInNeighbors
Visit strengthinneighborsharvey.com
Text “donate” to 512-269-0797 and follow the link.

Hand In Hand
handinhand2017.com

Call 1-800-258-6000

Text “give” to 80077

Harvey Can’t Mess With Texas
Texas Music Flood: A Harvey Relief Effort for Texas

rebuildtx.org

Text “RebuildTX” to 91999

Call 1-833-2-HELPTX

MuttNation Foundation

muttnation.com/foundation

The Recording Academy MusicCares Foundation Hurricane Relief Fund
grammy.com/musicares/donations