Amid Devastating Texas Floods, Country Star Robert Earl Keen Vows To Help With Benefit Concert
on Jul 07, 2025
Death Toll Rises In Texas Following 4th Of July Floods
Parts of Texas, including the area where Robert Earl Keen is from, are suffering amid horrific flooding, prompting Keen to organize a benefit concert to help those in need.
As NBC News reports, the flooding started on Friday (July 4). Surges reached 20-26 feet along the Guadalupe River near Kerrville, the county seat of Kerr County. The flooding led President Donald Trump to sign a major disaster declaration for the county.
An update NBC News posted to its ongoing live blog early on Monday morning (July 7) states that the death toll has climbed to 81 across six Texas counties. 68 of those deaths were reported in Kerr County alone.
Additionally, 10 children are still missing from Camp Mystic, a summer camp located along the Guadalupe River. The camp’s official website shared the sad news that 27 of its campers and counselors were killed in the flood.
“Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy. We are praying for them constantly,” the camp’s website reads.
Country Artist Robert Earl Keen Plots Benefit Concert To Help Texans After Catastrophic Floods
As the search continues for survivors, Texans are facing indescribable destruction caused by the floods. People across the U.S., many of them Texas natives, have stepped up to help, whether through cleanup efforts, donations, or by rescuing victims.
Robert Earl Keen is one Texan who’s stepping up to help the state recover from the floods, and he’s doing so through a benefit concert.
Keen was born in Houston but moved to Austin after graduating from Texas A&M. In 1983, he won the New Folk competition at the Kerrville Folk Festival, held in the same area now affected by the floods.
He released his debut album, No Kind of Dancer, in October 1984. Keen’s career took off from there, with his popularity increasing even more as he got older. He released several hit albums in the 2000s and 2010s, including Gravitational Forces (2001), The Rose Hotel (2009), and Happy Prisoner: The Bluegrass Sessions (2015).
Keen was inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame in 2019. Three years later, he announced his retirement from touring and performing in public. However, he has continued performing, and now plans to host a benefit concert to help Texas recover from the floods.
As Keen shared on X (formerly Twitter), his daughters attended Camp Mystic when they were young. Seeing everything the campers, counselors, and their families have suffered has struck an emotional chord with him.
Our hearts are heavy watching the devastation unfold across the Hill Country—my home. We’re praying for everyone affected.
— Robert Earl Keen (@robertearlkeen) July 5, 2025
Camp Mystic means so much to our family—both of our daughters spent summers there.
Sending love and strength to all.
—REK and Family pic.twitter.com/l7YmVeiNrF
On Saturday (July 5), Keen shared a video outlining his efforts to help those affected by the floods. He vowed to donate his merchandise sales from his current tour to the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country.
Additionally, Keen announced his plans to host a benefit concert to raise even more funds. He promised to provide more details about the benefit concert in the future.
Watch Keen’s video message below. We join him in praying for the people of Texas.
The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country has established the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund to support local response, relief, and recovery efforts following the devastating July 4th flood.
— Robert Earl Keen (@robertearlkeen) July 5, 2025
You can access the Fund here: https://t.co/fSsOpJj2hq pic.twitter.com/uyYMBazwaX
If you’d like to help those affected by the Texas floods, the image below contains information about an emergency relief drive.
