On Friday (October 4), Eric Church shared his first solo song in three years, “Darkest Hour,” to benefit his home state of North Carolina following Hurricane Helene. Church signed over all publishing royalties from the song to the people of North Carolina, with the money going toward ongoing relief efforts in the state. “In the area that I’m from, the mountains of Western North Carolina were devastated,” Church said. “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.”

In an Instagram post announcing his benefit song, Church elaborates, “‘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.” (People)