CHARLOTTE, NC – Luke CombsEric Church, James Taylor, Keith Urban, Sheryl Crow and more are gearing up for the highly anticipated event concert for carolina on Saturday, an event that will raise funds to help the Carolina region following the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene.

At a pre-concert press conference on Saturday, Combs and Church spoke to reporters about their personal ties to the area, described how they managed to organize the benefit concert in three weeks, and shared the heartwarming story of how they secured the legendary gig. James Taylor to actualize.

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“I have an internal story with the artists in this exhibition,” Church said. “We were both going through our phones and trying to figure out who we could reach, and I said, ‘I need to find James Taylor. Like me, I need to hear ‘Carolina in my Mind’ in this stadium. So I took it upon myself to meet James last night.” “I’m pretty sure I followed him after we talked.”

“I had to go for a period of a week or two, I couldn’t get his cell phone number, so I kept going through my phone trying to figure out who would know James Taylor,” he recalled. “I had a friend named Joe Walsh, who plays for the Eagles, and I called him up. Like, ‘I want you to contact James Taylor.’ Joe didn’t hit me back, so I hit him again, and finally James said to me on stage last night: ‘You know, You really scared Joe Walsh!'”

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Eric Church has revealed how he was able to secure James Taylor for the Carolina Concert benefit concert. (Getty Images)

“(Joe) finally called (James) and said, ‘You need to talk to this guy and you need to be on this show, so he’ll leave me alone.’ So at least for tonight, you know, it was about both of us looking for who we could call and who could help.”

Combs said efforts to capture Taylor had been going on for “the better part of a week” but that they had “no doubt” he would succeed.

“We talked a lot on the phone. I remember him saying, ‘We were so close to getting James Taylor.’ It went on like that for the better part of a week, and I had no doubt he was going to make it,” Combs said.

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Luke Combs shared his personal experience with Taylor ahead of the concert. (Getty Images)

“Someone reached out to me and said, ‘James wants to get in touch with you,'” he recalled. “They said, ‘Just text before you call.’ ‘What will I say, what will I add to her life?’ I sent him this long message thanking him for being here and telling him how excited I was to hear how he played and how much of a fan I was, and he texted me back and said, ‘Yeah man, I’m really excited to be at the show.’ “He will play in my band,” he said.

“I ran up to those guys last night and texted them and said: ‘You guys are playing with James Taylor. Couldn’t you tell me?’ And they said, ‘How did you find out?’ They said, ‘From James Taylor!’ I said. Eric told me he called Joe Walsh and…

“Joe Walsh didn’t share the number with me,” Church said.

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“But James reached out to my bassist and keyboard player via email, and I said, ‘You guys are more important to James Taylor than the Eagles. That’s pretty sharp!’ I said.”

Luke Combs, Eric Church, David Tepper and his wife, Carolina Panthers owner Nicole Tepper, and Gov. Roy Cooper spoke at a news conference Saturday. (Fox News Digital)

“The most important thing I think for Luke and I is that we continue to shine a light on this,” Church said.
“This concert is a great way to do that, but these people are going to need help long after tonight, long after next month and well after six months. So it’s about how can we continue to highlight this to make people aware of what’s out there and what’s going on?” “We explained how we helped the people there.”

Hosted by ESPN’s Marty Smith and Barstool Sports’ Caleb Pressley, the benefit show presented by Explore Asheville and the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority will take place at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

After David Tepper and his wife, Nicole Tepper, owners of the Carolina Panthers, Charlotte FC and Bank of America Stadium, first heard that a fundraising concert would be held, they immediately offered the stadium as a venue.

“When Luke first approached us with the idea for a concert that would benefit relief efforts in the area, we felt compelled to open the gates of Bank of America Stadium for this special moment,” Nicole said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. “Each day, we become more inspired by the strength and determination of our Carolina community, and we are grateful to join Luke, Eric, and our fellow Carolinians as we embark on the path to recovery together.”

Luke Combs, James Taylor, Sheryl Crow, Keith Urban will perform at the concert. (Getty Images)

The couple previously announced that they would donate $3 million through the David and Nicole Tepper Foundation.

According to a press release, all proceeds from the event, including sponsorships, will be split 50/50 between Combs and Church’s Chief Cares Foundation to be given to organizations of their choice to support relief efforts in the Carolinas and Southeast.

Combs’ share will be distributed among Samaritan’s Bag, Manna Food Bank And Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC.

Church Chief Cares It is focused on helping established charities and organizations that are well-managed, organized and able to deliver aid directly to families affected by Hurricane Helene.

In the midst of destruction, like other stars Dolly PartonMiranda Lambert, Morgan Wallen and more also did their part by contributing to the charity.

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Fox News Digital’s Emily Trainham and Janelle Ash contributed to this post.