Doing their part. The outpouring of support for North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and other parts of the South affected by Hurricane Helene has been overwhelming. The country music industry, especially, has stepped up to help these communities. From Miranda Lambert donating money for the pets and animals affected by the hurricane through MuttNation, Lainey Wilson delivering supplies to support relief efforts to Dolly Parton donating a large sum of her own money, and Luke Combs and Eric Church organizing their charity show, Concert for Carolina, country music stars of all kinds are doing their part. Luke Combs and Eric Chruch put together a star-studded lineup featuring James Taylor, Chase Rice, The Avett Brothers, Keith Urban, Sheryl Crow, and more. Of course, Luke and Eric also performed during the show, and they raised an astonishing $24,513,185. While the instantaneous step-up from artists and organizations was greatly appreciated, continued support is what these communities will need to recover from the hurricane's devastating effects fully. 49 Winchester immediately responded to the crisis, announcing a benefit show, but at a later date. The Castlewood, Virginia, band put together a benefit show after Thanksgiving at the East Tennessee State University Martin Center for the Arts. Proceeds from their performance and those tuned in for the show's livestream benefited Second Harvest of Northeast Tennessee.  During the benefit show, the 49 boys brought the heat, putting on a helluva show for the attendees. By the end of the night, they raised over $35k for Second Harvest of Northeast Tennessee. "Really special night in Johnson City, So much love & gratitude to everyone who joined in person to sell out ETSU Martin Center & tuned in on livestream Nugs.Net for helping us raise over $35,000 for Second Harvest of Northeast Tennessee!"https://www.instagram.com/p/DDINyy1pqld/?img_index=1 With some band members calling Tennessee home now, it was incredible to see them step up to help the community that is either their home or close to their Virginia home. However, this is not the only generous act that 49 Winchester is doing to give back to its community. Chase Chafin prematurely launched his new business, FOLK Ware, and donated the proceeds from the first design drop to the Appalachian Relief Fund. "Not how we envisioned the launch of FOLK Ware, but it feels more important than ever to promote unity & general positivity across the region. Proceeds at launch will directly benefit Appalachian Flood relief programs & local efforts. It will certainly be a long road ahead & we will stay active in learning the best ways to help in the coming weeks & months." https://www.instagram.com/p/DAgNuTfJK45/?img_index=1 49 Winchester is a group that is proud of their roots and has stepped up to make sure that the region of Appalachia they call home is taken care of and comes back stronger than ever. Good on 49 Winchester for putting on this stellar event. As ongoing relief efforts continue to happen, I can't wait to see how the country's music community continues to support. It is genuinely incredible seeing everyone show up and show out for this cause. Fire up their performance of "Anchor" from the night while you're here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCeQ_wvCXBw

Been in the works for quite a while. The sexual assault allegations against Garth Brooks rocked the country music world back in October, when a lawsuit was filed in California against the country music superstar by a former makeup artist and hairdresser for Garth and his wife, Trisha Yearwood. The woman, who identifies herself only as Jane Roe, alleges that the country music superstar raped and sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions, including once while the two were in Los Angeles. Garth has, of course, denied the allegations: “For the last two months, I have been hassled to no end with threats, lies, and tragic tales of what my future would be if I did not write a check for many millions of dollars. It has been like having a loaded gun waved in my face. Hush money, no matter how much or how little, is still hush money. In my mind, that means I am admitting to behavior I am incapable of – ugly acts no human should ever do to another. We filed suit against this person nearly a month ago to speak out against extortion and defamation of character. We filed it anonymously for the sake of families on both sides. I want to play music tonight. I want to continue our good deeds going forward. It breaks my heart these wonderful things are in question now. I trust the system, I do not fear the truth, and I am not the man they have painted me to be.” And after the lawsuit was filed, it was revealed that Garth had actually filed an anonymous lawsuit of his own in Mississippi, seeking to prevent his accuser from naming him and going public with her lawsuit in California. But after the sexual assault lawsuit was filed naming Garth as the alleged abuser, the singer decided to re-file his lawsuit and publicly name his accuser, claiming she was no longer entitled to remain anonymous. (For the record, we are choosing not to name the accuser at this time to give the legal process time to play out). The legal drama is just at the beginning, with the court in Mississippi having sealed the case from the public, and Garth moving the lawsuit filed against him in California to federal court. He has also asked that the case be dismissed entirely, while attorneys for his accuser have asked that Garth be sanctioned for making her name public. Long story short, it's a mess. But as it turns out, it's a mess that's been brewing for quite some time. In a sworn declaration filed by the woman's attorney, Hayley Baker, in the Mississippi case, Baker reveals that the accuser first reached out to her in 2020 regarding her claims against Garth: "I first met the defendant...in 2020. I met Mrs. Roe in connection with her legal consultation about potential claims against...Garth Brooks. At the time. Mrs. Roe told me the underlying facts relating to Brooks that are now set forth in the action commenced in California Superior Court." The accuser claims that she first started working for Garth in 2017, and that he began giving her more work in 2019 when she began experiencing financial difficulties. She alleges in her complaint that it was in 2019 that the sexual assaults began, including an incident when the singer walked out of the shower and exposed himself to her while making sexual comments. She also claims that the alleged rape in Los Angeles took place in 2019 while the pair were on a trip for a Grammy tribute to Sam Moore. Her attorney, Baker, also revealed that the woman did not officially hire legal counsel until April 24, 2024, nearly four years after initially reaching out about her claims. And she claims that after she contacted Garth's attorneys, they asked her to "make an offer" to settle the case out of court. The attorney claims that after presenting Garth's attorneys with a settlement offer, as well as notifying them that the offer would expire in September and that if not accepted she would be filing her lawsuit, they then asked for more information and medical records surrounding the accuser's alleged injuries. On the date that the settlement offer was allegedly set to expire, Garth filed his lawsuit in Mississippi seeking to keep the woman's claims from becoming public. Obviously there's still a long way to go in the cases, but it's interesting to find out that the woman actually started reaching out to attorneys way back in 2020.