What Cannot Wash Away: One Year After Helene

When Hurricane Helene hit, it was truly a perfect storm. For many communities, it was catastrophic. For some, the landscape was physically changed, rendering hometowns and hollers unrecognizable.

For buskers, balladeers, pickers, and players—like many of us—the effects of the hurricane played out well past the sky clearing.

“The life that we had lined up before Helene is much different than the life we have after it,” Jackie Kelsh, a singer-songwriter from Asheville, said.

Bassists and drummers were forced to stay home as ensembles were turned into solo acts. Bands ceased selling merch due to washed-away post offices, venues, and roads. Tourism dollars shrank, and with it the crowds to watch and support musicians.

The devastation of the storm amounted to income loss for 88% of musicians. Of those affected, 46% belonged to households that make less than $25,000 a year.

“Yes, we’re suffering. Yes we are,” Donna Ray Norton, an eighth-generation ballad singer from Asheville, said. “But we still do these things that we love, and we still want to share them with you.”

It’s Music Maker’s mission to tend the roots of American music. When the ground washed away, exposing the fragility of some of these artists’ lives, we knew we needed to step up and find the best way to help musicians, just like they were stepping up for their community.

It was donors and partners like you that allowed us to do just that. To meet the moment, we created the Carolina Music Makers Fund (CMMF) in October 2024 to support musicians financially impacted by flood damages, income loss, and other related concerns.

To help coordinate and use donations effectively, Western North Carolinian and Indiana University Folklore Ph.D. candidate Olivia Phillips joined the Music Maker team as Artist Outreach Coordinator. A generous $10,000 grant from the North Carolina Arts Council enabled Phillips to identify needs being met by other organizations and those left unmet. She conducted dozens of interviews with musicians, oversaw grant offers to interviewees, and saw their performances come to fruition, attending and documenting a few first-hand.

The performance grants and emergency grants we awarded amounted to $65,000, all of which was raised from donors and granted directly to impacted artists.

Music can be life-changing for a community. We know this, which is why we have done everything we can to support the musicians who weave stories and melodies together that allow the community to come together and heal.

While our work is far from over, and the effects of Helene are still felt today, we are continuing to support musicians with grants and social services. Because music matters now, more than ever. Thank you again for your support.