Scotty McCreery is vowing to help those impacted by the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Helene in his home state of North Carolina. The 30-year-old, who still calls the state home, is understandably shocked and saddened by the widespread damage, and is ready to band with others to help those in desperate need.
“It’s devastating,” McCreery tells American Songwriter. “We’re trying to do what we can to help. We’re in talks with the other artists about doing some kind of thing.”
Part of the challenge of getting help to those who need it most is that one of the main roads, Interstate 40, was washed away.
“That doesn’t happen overnight,” McCreery acknowledges, speaking of how long it will take for the road to be repaired. “That’s going to be a minute. Obviously, it’s scary.”
In true McCreery fashion, even as he continues to headline his Fall of Summer Tour, his heart is on those who are facing unimaginable losses.
“Places are just completely gone,” McCreery says, adding that he wishes he could be there, in-person with a chainsaw to help. “It’s very sad, for sure … People used to go to the mountains to get away from the hurricanes. It feels like a once-in-a-thousand-year kind of thing for sure.”
It’s no surprise that McCreery is already planning ways to help. The altruistic singer recently donated a dirt bike to an 11-year-old boy in Southern California, after the boy’s lemonade stand, which he was using to purchase his own dirt bike, was stolen.
“I like to think that there’s a lot of great people out there, but every now and then you hear something that does stink,” McCreery recently said to Audacy’s 103.7 KSON radio station. “I wanted to call in and offer a little bit of something that I could. If y’all don’t mind, I’d love to contribute a little something.”
“Every kid needs to have fun out there, and I loved dirt bikes when I was a kid, so I’d love to contribute a dirt bike, if that’s okay with y’all,” he continued. “I like other people to feel good, and I don’t like to see any frowns on kids’ faces or anything like that, so this is the least we could do after we heard about this … Thank y’all for jumping on this and doing good in the community. That’s what it’s all about.”
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McCreery still has plenty of tour dates on the calendar for the remainder of the year, but fortunately, he won’t have to miss his wife, Gabi, and son Avery, while on the road. McCreery decided early on to tour with his family, who appears in his new “Porch” video, as much as possible.
“I got a little crib in the bus, and they get to travel around,” McCreery revealed at a recent media event. “If the show doesn’t start too late, Avery’s side stage, watching. We’ve had beach days together, we’ve had mountain trips where he’s crossed the bridge … We do a lot of stuff as a family. Just watching him grow up and realize what we do, it’s pretty cool.”
McCreery’s Fall of Summer Tour will wrap up in early December. He recently announced he was embarking on his own UK Tour as well in 2025. Find all of McCreery’s music and upcoming shows at ScottyMcCreery.com.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of NBC