How country singer Eric Church is helping his home state of North Carolina after Hurricane Helene

In the wake of Hurricane Helene, ABC News' “Good Morning America” ​​is offering five days of special coverage, “Southeast Strong: Help After Helene” (#SoutheastStrongABC), highlighting the communities affected by Hurricane Helene across the Southeast and the urgent response efforts illuminated Help them recover.

Eric Church is helping his home state of North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene the best way he knows how: with music.

The country singer just released his first new solo release in over three years, a song titled “Darkest Hour,” and all of his publishing royalties will go toward immediate relief for victims of the storm that hit much of the country last weekend devastated the southeast and left the country with more than 200 dead.

“From western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, upstate South Carolina, parts of Georgia and even Florida, which took a direct hit, so many places have been affected,” Church said in a statement. “Especially where I come from, the mountains of western North Carolina have been devastated. There are places that have simply disappeared biblically. These are our family members, they are our friends, they are our neighbors – and they “I urgently need help.”

Church said “it didn't feel right waiting” to release this song next year along with more new music, noting, “Sometimes you give songs their moment, and sometimes they find their own moment.”

“This song, 'Darkest Hour,' was the best way I could think of to help,” he said. “It's not something that can be fixed quickly, so hopefully 'Darkest Hour' can continue to contribute to that for a long time. This song goes to my homeland of North Carolina, now and forever.”

Church dedicated the song to “the unsung heroes, the people who show up when the world is falling apart” and “the people who show up in the most difficult times, offering a hand when it's needed most and standing firm when others don't.” “can’t.”

“When the night is at its blackest, this is for those who hold the light, guide the lost and carry us forward,” he added.

Church said the song's message is about people coming together after Hurricane Helene, but “more broadly, it's about all the challenging times in our lives that we will all experience.”

“It is always important to know that in the darkest hour there are people who rush in, people who help,” he concluded. “And I think it’s also important to be one of the people who goes running when other people need help.”

Listen to “Darkest Hour” here:

The singer's organization, Church's Chief Cares, also promises help “in all affected states and communities, from the Appalachians to the Gulf.”