Celebrities from TV, film, and music came together in September 2017 to give back in a big way. A telethon called Hand in Hand: A Benefit For Hurricane Relief was put together and dozens of celebrities including Gwen Stefani, Julia Roberts, Justin Bieber, Oprah Winfrey, and Justin Timberlake were on hand to take donations over the phone.
#HandInHand 🤝
A Benefit For Hurricane Relief https://t.co/C2Xdt8oayP pic.twitter.com/67eSsHC5Up— Hand In Hand 🤝 (@handinhandfund) September 6, 2017
At first, the benefit was planned with the victims of Hurricane Harvey in mind, but after the devastation that Hurricane Irma left in Florida, the event immediately included organizations that would help them, too.
As a proud Texan, there was no one that wanted to help more than the King of Country, George Strait.
“We are working on putting together relief efforts along with the whole country music community. Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected by the storm. My family was personally affected along with many friends in Houston and Rockport and surrounding areas. God bless us all,” he wrote on Facebook after seeing the affects of Hurricane Harvey.
https://www.facebook.com/georgestrait/posts/10154761061200906
Shortly after his statement, Hand In Hand was announced, with Blake Shelton hosting the Nashville portion of the show.
Not long after, Strait took to Facebook again to reveal his involvement in the benefit concert, writing, “In an effort to raise funds, spirits, and help rebuild Texas in the wake of Harvey’s devastation, we’ll be playing a special benefit show at The Majestic Theatre in San Antonio, TX on September 12 with Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton, Robert Earl Keen, and Lyle Lovett as part of the ‘Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Harvey Relief’ fundraiser.”
https://www.facebook.com/georgestrait/videos/10154780331085906/?__xts__[0]=68.ARA-dcIXETD4GFAmVkereptF0AiZDGPKU_JdUTCPe-G48__J1_pnyMOFKtemY2XF3Yd3tqcJLG0z-102573Tgi3cwvUo_e9SRVdCSeFsJtxLrPQBpcQdiAz2Yx-PzC7xDkQf5EG1Fc0pZG5H2-B574Lm1y3uHmsNqglQKVEsc7fI0QJ0fe-AAHY6AV1NKOXGNBA7MzQrVRfAjaeR1ZDTXrQM3b3QrHrJ_8eCiwwAj4-LjQGaZfus1LC9FyLvJ8LMkU8xdO3f83DL42TUYUbuUGsETx8OgCZ0qpYFhqXqWbkzZax34J2mzG0Ic-SnXVr_II48&__tn__=-R
While Strait’s concert was around two hours long, the televised benefit cut to San Antonio, Texas to close out the broadcast. With some help from Stapleton, Lambert, Keen, and Lovett, Strait performed a once in a lifetime rendition of his ode to his home state, “If It Wasn’t For Texas.”
Each singer sang an entire verse solo, but they all came together for the chorus, which honest to goodness gave us chills.
Watch the performance below.
