Scotty McCreery is so proud to be from North Carolina. McCreery lives in the state he was raised in, along with his wife, Gabi, and two-year-old son, Avery. His home was fortunately spared from the devastation of Hurricane Helene. Still, he didn’t have to look far to find people who had it far worse than he did.
“My favorite place in the world is in the mountains of North Carolina,” McCreery says on the God’s Country podcast. “We go up there, we have a little place there. Our place was spared. Trees down all around us. When I was driving up there for the first time after the storm, it was like, ‘I see some trees down.’ But then you drive two miles and take a left, and you’ve never seen anything like it. People are still struggling. They’ve got a long way back. But the people in the mountains, they’re a resilient group, so they’ll make it through, but it’s gonna be a minute.”
McCreery immediately had the idea to use his name and notoriety to help those in need. He performed as part of Luke Combs and Eric Church‘s Concert for Carolina, part of an all-star lineup that also included James Taylor, Billy Strings, Keith Urban, Bailey Zimmerman, Sheryl Crow, Chase Rice and Parmalee. McCreery calls it the “coolest, best show” he has ever been part of.
“The storm hit, and I immediately called my team,” McCreery remembers. “I said, ‘Guys, I want to do something. I want to do something, but I guarantee Luke and Eric are going to do something. And if they are, I’d love to be a part of it, even if I’m just an announcer. If I’m there, if I’m selling hot dogs, I want to be a part of it.’ And five minutes after I called my team, Luke’s camp called us and said, ‘Hey, we’d love you to be a part of this.’ I think everybody was there for the same cause; everybody kind of came together as one.”
“In a time in the world when everyone’s got opinions and disagreeing … there was none of that in the stadium,” he adds. “[More than] 70,000 [people]. They raised $24 million. But backstage was different. You’re walking to catering, and James Taylor is right behind you. It’s like, ‘Well, this isn’t the Wayne County Fair. This is a little different.'”
Much has been done for McCreery’s beloved home state, but there is a lot more that still needs to be done to help the storm-ravaged area.
“There are still roads that are washed out,” McCreery reveals. “I was listening to somebody talk about it, and they were like, ‘If you’re looking at percentage-wise, they’re probably ten percent back.’ They’ve got a long road, but I love it up there. Those people are the give-you-the-shirt-off-their-back kind of people.”
McCreery owns a mountain home, but he also loves the North Carolina beaches, even though they are vastly different from the white sandy beaches in Florida that many people flock to year-round.
“To me, it’s the chillness of it,” he says. “The beach we go to, there’s no putt-putts on it. There are no hotels. It’s just your neighbors. It’s just quiet. July 4th, where we’re at, there might be 15 to 20 people on the beach. It’s quiet. It’s you and the ocean. It’s not the soft sand you’re gonna get. Destin is amazing, but it’s chill. The vibes are chill … You’re not gonna get off there and think you’re in the Caribbean. But it’s good.”
McCreery is donating all of the proceeds from his song “Carolina to Me” to Samaritan’s Purse, to help in the ongoing recovery efforts. He will spend part of 2025 opening for Kane Brown on Brown’s The High Road Tour. He will also headline his own UK Tour this year. Find all of McCreery’s music and upcoming shows at ScottyMcCreery.com.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of NBC