Robert Earl Keen & Friends Raise Over $3 Million for Texas Flood Relief

The nature of life and the news cycle these days means we unfortunately pinball from one tragedy to another. The horror of a natural disaster is chased by the details of some political scandal, proceeded by the latest mass shooting to the point where something that happened two months ago can feel like ancient history.

But the people of Texas haven’t forgotten about the tragic flooding in the Hill Country on July 4th, and continue to show up for their fellow neighbors, with no fatigue displayed. Though many other benefits have transpired all throughout Texas and the United States to help folks rebuild, Robert Earl Keen’s was the first major one to be announced, and ultimately became one of the biggest with some $3 million raised.

Thursday, August 28th will forever be remembered for setting a capacity record at the Whitewater Amphitheater in Braunfels, TX, along with the final financial tally. The fund was seeded with $1 million to start off by Arch “Beaver” Aplin of the distinctly Texas Buc-ee’s gas stations.

The over eight-hour presentation can be streamed now on the YouTube page of Robert Earl Keen, and donations are still coming in. The show was excellent, with many top-name collaborations like Ryan Bingham, Jamey Johnson, and Cody Jinks performing in a songwriting round, Cleto Cordero, Randy Rogers, Josh Abbott, and William Clark Green performing in another, and yet another with Hayes Carll, Radney Foster, and Ray Wylie Hubbard.

In between the bigger sets you had artists like Pug Johnson and Vincent Neil Emerson performing for both the massive crowd in attendance, and the many thousands who tuned in online. Hill Country native Sarah Jarosz, Kelsey Waldon, and Kazimi also played early sets, while a reunited Cross Canadian Ragweed, and the “Marfa Tapes” lineup of Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram, and Jon Randall regaled the audience.

And of course, Robert Earn Keen capped it all off, with a special appearance by Tyler Childers backed by Robert Earl Keen’s band. All the great moments could be extrapolated here, but really, the best thing to do is to watch.

Beyond the video though, below you can find some moments frozen in time and captured live, memorializing the musicians who volunteered their time for the cause.

As Kerrville resident Robert Earl Keen said,

“We know that music is magical. It is a binding force like no other. Music can relieve our grief, warm our hearts, and bring strangers together in the celebration of life … Our mission to do as much as we can, for everyone we can, for as long as we can, will continue far into the future. We want our music to serve as a reminder of this day as it echoes through the canyons of time.”

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Apologies to any performers not pictured or mentioned.

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