Luke Combs and Eric Church share a heartwarming story about getting James Taylor to perform for Carolina

During the Saturday press conference before the concert, Combs and Church spoke to reporters about their personal connection to the area, explained how they were able to organize the benefit concert in three weeks and shared the heartwarming story of how they won the legendary James Taylor appears.

ERIC CHURCH SUPPORTS HURRICANE HELENE VICTIMS BY DONATIONS OF ROYALTY FEES FROM NEW SONG: “THEY’RE IN NEED”

Luke Combs, James Taylor and Eric Church are among the stars set to perform at the Concert for Carolina on Saturday. (Getty Images)

“I have an inside story with the artists who appear on this show,” Church said. “We were both looking through our phones trying to figure out who we could reach and I thought, ‘I have to get James Taylor.’ I just need to hear “Carolina in my Mind” in this stadium, and I’m pretty sure I was watching it after the conversation last night.

“For a week or two when I had to leave, I couldn’t get his cell phone number, so I kept searching my phone trying to find out who would know James Taylor,” he recalled. “I had a friend of mine, Joe Walsh, who’s with the Eagles and I called him. Said, ‘You gotta get a hold of James Taylor.’ And Joe didn’t hit me back, so I hit him again, and then James told me on stage last night, “You know, you really freaked Joe Walsh out.”

Do you like what you’re reading? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Eric Church explained how he was able to get James Taylor to perform at the “Concert for Carolina” benefit concert. (Getty Images)

“(Joe) finally called (James) and said, ‘You need to talk to this guy and you need to play this show so he’ll leave me alone.’ So at least for tonight it was a matter of us both calling, who we could call and who would help.

Combs said that while their efforts to get Taylor lasted “almost a week,” they had “no doubt” he would come through.

“We talked on the phone a lot. I remember him saying, ‘We’re so close to getting James Taylor.’ This went on for almost a week. I had no doubt he could do it,” Combs said.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

Luke Combs shared his personal experiences with Taylor before the concert. (Getty Images)

“Someone reached out to me and said, ‘James would like to get in touch with you,'” he recalls. “They said, ‘Just text him before you call him.’ I said, “What should I say and add to his life in some way?” I sent him this really long text thanking him for being here and how excited I was to hear him play and what for a fan I was. He wrote me back and was like, ‘Yeah man, I’m really excited to be on the show.’ He said, ‘Your bass player and key player are going to play in my band.'”

“I walked up to these guys last night and texted them and said, ‘You’re playing with James Taylor. Couldn’t you tell me?’ And they said, “How did you find out?” And I thought, ‘From James Taylor!’ Eric told me he called Joe Walsh.

“Joe Walsh wouldn’t give me the number,” Church said.

HURRICANE HELENE: DOLLY PARTON, MORGAN WALLEN, MIRANDA LAMBERT HELP WITH DISASTER RELIEF

“But James emailed my bass player and my key player and I said, ‘You are more important to James Taylor than the Eagles. That’s pretty perceptive!’”

Luke Combs, Eric Church, David Tepper and his wife, Nicole Tepper – owner of the Carolina Panthers – and Gov. Roy Cooper spoke at a news conference Saturday. (Fox News Digital)

“I think the biggest and most important thing for Luke and I is that we continue to shed light,” Church said, referring to the aftermath of Helene. “This concert is a great way to do that, but these people will need help long after tonight and long after next month and long after six months. So it’s about how we can continue to bring this to the forefront to get people to do that. We know what happened there and how we help people there.

Hosted by Marty Smith of ESPN and Caleb Pressley of Barstool Sports, the benefit show – presented by Explore Asheville and the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority – takes place Saturday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

After David Tepper and his wife Nicole Tepper, owners of the Carolina Panthers, Charlotte FC and Bank of America Stadium, first heard that a benefit concert was being organized, they quickly offered the stadium as a venue.

“When Luke first approached us with the idea of ​​a concert to benefit local relief efforts, we felt compelled to open the doors of Bank of America Stadium for this special moment,” Nicole said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Every day we are more inspired by the strength and determination of our Carolina community, and we are grateful to join Luke, Eric and our fellow Carolinians as we embark on the road to recovery together.”

Luke Combs, James Taylor, Sheryl Crow and Keith Urban will all perform at the concert. (Getty Images)

The couple previously announced a $3 million donation through the David and Nicole Tepper Foundation.

All proceeds will be divided equally and distributed to organizations selected by Combs and Church to support relief efforts in the Carolinas and the Southeast, a news release said.

Amid the devastation, other stars like Dolly Parton, Miranda Lambert, Morgan Wallen and others have also done their part to provide relief.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital’s Emily Trainham and Janelle Ash contributed to this story.