What started out as an ambitious idea on the part of Raycom Media to help the Red Cross disaster relief efforts for people affected by the recent flooding in Louisiana kept getting bigger and bigger. The concert, Louisiana Rising: A Benefit Concert for Flood Relief, aired Monday and has raised more than $800,000 thus far for […]
What started out as an ambitious idea on the part of Raycom Media to help the Red Cross disaster relief efforts for people affected by the recent flooding in Louisiana kept getting bigger and bigger.
The concert, Louisiana Rising: A Benefit Concert for Flood Relief, aired Monday and has raised more than $800,000 thus far for American Red Cross Louisiana Flood Relief, and donations are still being counted.
Originally, the announcement came from Raycom and featured Harry Connick Jr. and Randy Jackson, both Louisiana natives, as hosts. The concert was to be aired on the Raycom stations and across the country on the Bounce TV diginet.
But in the weeks and days leading up to the event, there were announcements almost every day with more performers like Aaron Neville joining the bill and more broadcast companies like Sinclair airing the concert.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything quite like it. Broadcast companies partnering on a live program to benefit victims of a natural disaster.
The live show was carried by Raycom Media, Bounce TV, the ABC Owned and Operated Stations, Hearst Television, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Cordillera Communications, Meredith, Graham Media Group and Cox Media Group.
Viewers also watched a streaming of the show on a special website that carried an additional hour of performances after the broadcast portion ended.
Connick and Jackson co-hosted the live show from Baton Rouge’s River Center Theater. Better Than Ezra, Aaron Neville, Hunter Hayes, Rebirth Brass Band, Luther Kent, Chris LeBlanc, Herman Jackson Jazz Quartet, Quiana Lynell, David Torkanowsky, Chris Thomas King, MacKenzie Bourg, Sonny Landreth, Dwayne Dopsie and Zachary Richard were among artists who performed.
Throughout the broadcast, Matthew McConaughey, Ellen DeGeneres, Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Odell Beckham Jr., John Goodman, Britney Spears, James Taylor, Trace Adkins, Governor John Bel Edwards, Amy Grant, Vince Gill, Scott Bakula, Vanessa Ferlito, Les Miles and Tim McGraw lent messages of support.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAJfi29iIWI
The broadcast concluded with Connick Jr. on the piano and all artists singing You Are My Sunshine, which is one of Louisiana’s state songs made popular by former Louisiana Governor Jimmie Davis.
“We are thrilled with the results so far,” said Pat LaPlatney, Raycom’s president.
“We appreciate all the artists who donated their time and energy to the concert. We are grateful to our broadcast partners that helped us reach markets beyond the Raycom Media footprint. Thank you to all our sponsors and the many who donated their goods and services. This was a tremendous effort to raise awareness and money to help the people of South Louisiana recover.”
Donations are still being accepted at www.redcross.org/supportLA.
Comments (0)
Reader Interactions