Carolina Music Makers Fund Update, May 2025

In October, we announced the creation of the Carolina Music Makers Fund, an aid fund for musicians affected by Hurricane Helene in the Carolinas and beyond. While the storm’s devastation has since moved out of the headlines, it continues to shape daily life for mountain communities and the artists who keep their traditions alive.

As her time with Music Maker winds down, we’re pleased to share a May update from Olivia Phillips, Artist Outreach Coordinator.

This spring has been a busy time for the Carolina Music Makers Fund. As Artist Outreach Coordinator for the project, I’ve had the joy of seeing dozens of the artists we’ve supported report back on their performances. Some of these have been informal gatherings of neighbors and friends while others have taken place at festivals, served as fundraisers, or helped performers get back to playing in venues that were physically or financially impacted by Helene.

In our first update about the CMMF in January, I wrote that an overwhelming theme amongst musicians I interviewed for the project was a profound gratitude for community, especially at the local level. This remains true today, with nearly 100% of our grantees crediting mutual aid and community care as the most helpful and hopeful parts of this experience. Regardless of the settings or audiences of the performances we’ve supported, our artists report that these events have provided a sense of strengthening or giving back to the local communities that have sustained them. 

Rhonda Gouge and Keeping Time, comprised of grantees Rhonda, Kathy Kuhne, and Sam McKinney, fulfilled their performance grants through a benefit concert for hurricane relief in their Mitchell County home, hosting over 100 audience members at Spruce Pine United Methodist Church on April 26th. Rhonda told me earlier this year that watching the people and landscapes of Mitchell County go through the devastation of Hurricane Helene has been the most challenging part of the storm:

“I wish that I could wave a wand and…things could somehow be normal. And that the trees would somehow be cleaned up, and the trash. And that people could get back to their normal routines. And I wish I could wave a wand and take all the hurt away.”

I wish I could do that, too. But I’m inspired by musicians such as Rhonda, Kathy, Sam, and many of our other artists who have used this opportunity to help others. 

It was a pleasure to attend the Music Maker-sponsored ballad swap on the beautiful outdoor stage of Homeplace Beer Company in Burnsville on April 4th. I was able not only to meet Sheila Kay Adams, Donna Ray Norton, William Ritter, and other singers whose work I have admired, but to witness the excitement of one of our grant-sponsored performances firsthand. Donna Ray told me in January that, “Yes, we’re suffering. Yes we are. But we still do these things that we love, and we still want to share them with you.“ Audiences and performers alike, I believe, felt this passion in the power of an age-old Western North Carolina singing tradition ringing through the streets of downtown Burnsville.

On the Music Maker homefront, CMMF grantee and Music Maker artist Kelley Breiding joined us in our Fountain, NC recording studio last week. Hailing from Ashe County, Kelley is a talented vocalist and multi-instrumentalist who performs country, bluegrass, old-time, and Western swing music. Be on the lookout for our release of Kelley’s newest album in 2026!

The Carolina Music Makers Fund will wind down next month, but in every conversation with an artist, I am reminded that musicians recovering from Helene will need the support of their fans and listeners well into the future. Through attending live shows, purchasing merch or digital downloads, telling others about our favorite local musicians, and even just offering them encouragement, each of us can be a part of that process. I look forward to following the music of so many of our grantees for years to come.

– Olivia Phillips, Artist Outreach Coordinator