Country music stars donate all proceeds from latest single to Hurricane Florence relief

By Kasey Cunnintham, WRAL reporter

Raleigh, N.C. — Country music stars from North Carolina are using the release of their latest single to help with relief efforts for Hurricane Florence victims.

When members of the band Parmalee saw images and videos of their home state under water, they knew they wanted to help somehow. Their desire to do something turned into their latest song, “Down Town.”

Throughout their musical career, members of the band have always been proud of their roots. The group’s name even pays tribute to the small town of Parmalee, NC, where they started out.

When Hurricane Florence hit last month, the band was working in Music City.

“We were out in Nashville like ‘what can we do?’ If we were here, we could pick up the chainsaw and help people cut trees and help out, but we couldn’t so we were like maybe we can write a song,” vocalist Matt Thomas said.

When they saw the images and videos of how their fellow North Carolinians responded to the devastation from the storm, they knew what they’d sing about.

“The idea about this ain’t no down town, meaning the town’s not going down,” Thomas said.

The lyric video for the song debuted last week. It shows North Carolinians helping one another after the storm and the song will help aid the recovery efforts.

“All the proceeds go to the American Red Cross,” Thomas said.

“That really is what inspired this song, because we’re from North Carolina. We’ve seen hurricanes come and go and we’ve been there to help and we’ve had people help us and that really is what this is all about, rebuilding and being a strong community,” said bassist Barry Knox.