On Sunday, Scotty McCreery closed the 10th annual Island Hopper Songwriter Fest in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. But, his heart was in his home state of North Carolina. While many Floridians in the audience had braced to take the brunt of Hurricane Helene on Thursday, the storm unexpectedly ravaged an area much closer to McCreery’s hometown of Garner, North Carolina.
On Monday (Sept. 30) night, the Associated Press reported the hurricane and its aftermath had killed 133 people and called Helene one of the worst storms in U.S. history. The death toll topped 130.
Washed-out roads continue to strand North Carolina residents who also have no power, cell service or water. Floods and mudslides completely washed away other towns.
“Legitimately, Asheville turned into an island there for a little bit,” McCreery told American Songwriter ahead of his show at Pink Shell Beach Resort and Marina. “There were no roads in or out.”
McCreery, his wife, Gabi, his mother, Judy, and his sister, Ashley, sat at a large round table in a ballroom at the resort, sharing dinner from catering. McCreery’s son, Avery, almost 2, and his niece toddled around the table. Gabi pulled Avery into her lap and gave him some broccoli.
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Scotty McCreery: “Asheville Turned Into An Island”
The family weekend excursion has been planned for a while and is the first time the youngest members of the McCreery clan have seen the singer perform. However, the trip almost didn’t happen. Judy said that following the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards on Thursday, Sept. 26, McCreery and his dad rented a car and drove the approximate 600 miles to their North Carolina home because they knew airlines would cancel flights the next day. A portion of I-40 West on the McCreery’s route from Tennessee to North Carolina was buried in the mudslide shortly after the men crossed over it.
“They left Nashville that night in a rental car and drove that section of 40, and the next morning, it was washed out,” Judy said. “They got in at 5:30 in the morning.”
“It’s devastating,” McCreery added, his eyes downcast at the table and looking watery. “We’re trying to do what we can to help. We’re in talks with the other artists about doing some kind of thing.”
Gabi wondered how long it would take officials and crews to repair the washed-out section of I-40.
“That doesn’t happen overnight,” McCreery said. “That’s going to be a minute. Obviously, it’s scary.”
McCreery said his friends who have lived in the most devastated areas their entire lives are stunned at the storm’s toll.
Scotty McCreery: “Places Are Completely Gone”
“He is like, ‘I’ve never seen anything like this,’” McCreery said. “Places are just completely gone. It’s very sad, for sure.”
McCreery told his wife he wished he was there right then, helping out with a chainsaw in hand. Fans for his meet and greet started filing into the room, and McCreery had to switch into work mode.
“People used to go to the mountains to get away from the hurricanes,” McCreery said before he went to shake hands. “It feels like a once-in-a-thousand-year kind of thing for sure.”
Less than an hour later, McCreery performed for thousands at the outdoor show in stifling humidity and heat. He tore through his hit songs, including “Cab in a Solo,” “It Matters to Her,” and “Five More Minutes,” his signature baritone ringing through the Sunday evening sunset with album-accurate clarity. People drank, danced, and sang along, but no one—including McCreery—forgot how close Helene came to their coast. Work crews in Fort Myers Beach were still using heavy machinery to shovel sand out of the streets, and McCreery was deep into planning a trip home to North Carolina to help out in any way he could.
To donate to the North Carolina Disaster Relief Fund, visit nc.gov/donate. For information on volunteer opportunities, please visit nc.gov/working/volunteer-opportunities/volunteernc.
(Photo by Christopher Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images)
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