Sights and sounds from the Hurricane Florence Benefit Concert in Myrtle Beach

A stadium normally filled with baseball fans was overtaken by cowboy boots and country artists Sunday, as people gathered together to raise money for flood victims at the Hurricane Florence Benefit Concert.

The concert drew headliners like South Carolina native Darius Rucker, Love and Theft, Michael Ray and Carly Pearce to TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Ballpark after record-breaking flooding hit the Grand Strand from Hurricane Florence.

The storm, which made landfall in North Carolina as a Category 1 hurricane in September, displaced families from their homes — many who were still recovering from flooding after Hurricane Matthew hit the coast in 2016.

“It was just devastating for so many people,” Myrtle Beach resident Scott Foster said at the concert. “We just figured it was our way to give back.”

And for many of the artists, the Grand Strand and Carolina coast is a place they call home.

“We wanted to do whatever we could to give back to this community,” said Eric Gunderson of Love and Theft. “I think I came here on vacation three times a year ever since I was a little kid. It’s awesome, because it’s all of our friends here doing it too. So it’s nice to have a nice little reunion, hopefully raise some good money to help the victims of the hurricane.”

On Sunday, a stage was placed in the infield and several people surrounded it as some of the first bands played their sets. Walking around with hats and gloves on, people were buying concert hoodies and t-shirts.

In the stands, people stood holding their beers and swaying to the music.

“This is for all you people who’ve been affected by the hurricane and the flooding,” Donnie Davisson of The Davisson Brothers band told the crowd. “We’d like to send our best to the Carolinas and all the great people that come along with it.”

According to Amie Lee, president of Palmetto Event Productions, about 3,000 people were in attendance by 6 p.m., but was unable to provide an exact number of tickets sold. The concert will run until 9:30 p.m., she said.

For Lee, who helped pull the concert together in about three and a half weeks, Hurricane Michael — which devastated Florida last month — and an unexpected cold front impacted the turnout.

“We’ve had some challenges in the sense that a lot of the talent were asked to go help those recovering from Hurricane Michael, which, again, came after we started the planning for this event,” Lee said. “So, it kind of shortened our pool of talent to be able to request.”

Despite the challenges, Lee and Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune said they were happy with the turnout and the night so far.

“I think the concert’s going really great so far,” Bethune said. “We had a good, early turnout. People have been filing in ever since, and the momentum keeps picking up, the crowd is very engaged and it seems like everybody’s loving it.”

All the proceeds from the concert and concessions are going to help flood victims. According to Lee, funds will go to the eastern South Carolina chapter of the American Red Cross, which benefits five S.C., counties and the Waccamaw Community Foundation, a non-profit based out of Murrells Inlet.

“It was super important for the host committee that the funds stay local, and it will,” Lee said. “They’ll be here to help folks in our community that were affected by the floods.”

Tickets, which went on-sale in mid-October, ranged from $50 to $200. Eight suites, which hold between 20 and 24 people, were available for $7,500.

A total number of money raised will be available later this week, Lee said.

This story was originally published November 11, 2018 at 8:12 PM.