Rebuild Texas Fund has announced its “Harvey Can’t Mess with Texas: A Benefit Concert for Hurricane Harvey Relief” will take place Sept. 22 at the Frank Erwin Center.
The concert, which the fund stated is the largest benefit concert in the state, will feature performances by Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Leon Bridges, Lyle Lovett and Ryan Bingham, according to a news release.
The evening will also include special appearances by Matthew McConaughey, Dan Rather, Austin Mayor Steve Adler and Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo—the former Austin police chief. Charlie Sexton will serve as the evening’s music director, and Austin-based Asleep at the Wheel will sit in as house band.
"Every time I've asked you to help our neighbors, you've risen to the challenge," Adler said in the news release. "Now we have an opportunity to do good by being our best, and that means putting on a show and having a good time. Let's show the world what it means to be the Live Music Capital of the World in the greatest state in the Union.”
The show will run from 7-11 p.m. and will also be broadcast on 11 Tegna Inc. TV stations and stream internationally on
www.youtube.com/texasstrong from 9-10 p.m.
Tickets go on sale at 3 p.m. Sept. 13 at
www.rebuildtx.org. Prices range from $30-$199.
Google Inc. will match the first $500,000 donated through a pledge challenge, the news release said. Volunteers from Google’s Austin office and Tegna employees will staff phone banks at select station locations throughout the state.
The Rebuild Texas Fund was created by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation in collaboration with the OneStar Foundation. The fund focuses on addressing health and housing; schools and child care; workforce and transportation; and capital for small businesses. The Dells aim to raise $100 million, the news release said.
Tegna stations airing the broadcast concert include: WFAA, Dallas; KHOU, Houston; KVUE, Austin; KENS, San Antonio; KBMT, Beaumont; KCEN, Waco-Temple-Bryan; KAGS, College Station; KIII, Corpus Christi; KYTX, Tyler; KIDY, San Angelo; and KXVA, Abilene.