Eric Church released “Darkest Hour” on October 4, 2024, after Hurricane Helene devastated communities across the Southeast. He announced that he would sign over the song’s publishing royalties to the people of North Carolina to support immediate relief and longer-term resilience. The song later appeared as track five on his 2025 album Evangeline vs. The Machine.
What Eric Church pledged
In an announcement published by Universal Music Canada on October 4, 2024, Church said he was signing over all of his publishing royalties for “Darkest Hour” to North Carolina. The stated aim was to help with immediate relief after Helene and support ongoing work toward a more resilient future for the state. Read the announcement.
The pledge is specifically about publishing royalties. The announcement does not say that all revenue, sales proceeds, or money generated by streams would be donated, and it does not explain a direct donation mechanism for an individual purchase or stream. It also gives no total amount, distribution formula, or recipient-by-recipient breakdown.
Why he released the song in October 2024
Church said Western North Carolina, where he is from, had been devastated, along with communities in East Tennessee, Upstate South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. The lyric “I’ll come running” took on new meaning as people needed help. Although the plan had been to wait until the following year to release music, he decided this song should come out sooner: “We were going to wait to release music until next year, but it just didn’t feel right to wait with this song.”
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He described the release as a way to contribute beyond immediate recovery, saying: “This song, ‘Darkest Hour,’ was the best way I could think to try to help.” These are statements from Church reproduced in the label announcement, not an independent account of how royalties were administered or distributed.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How “Darkest Hour” fits on Evangeline vs. The Machine
MCA’s official album announcement lists “Darkest Hour (Eric Church)” as track five on Evangeline vs. The Machine, released May 2, 2025. The track listing credits Church as the songwriter. See MCA’s album announcement and track list.
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- Used Book in Good Condition
MCA later described the song as helping raise awareness and money for North Carolina after Helene. The label also describes an arrangement with flute, French horn, and trombone leading into “Evangeline”; that is MCA’s description, not an independent review. Read MCA’s release announcement.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
- Format: Book & CD
- Genre: Jazz
- Category: Personality Book
- Contributors: Ella Fitzgerald
- Pub Date: 8/2000
Rank #3
- Listening CD
- Instrumentation: Choral
- Voicing: LISTENING CD
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