By Annie Reed

It was a Friday morning, and I opened the messages app to check my texts. To my surprise, the first thing I saw was my brother Mercer Reed (‘19) saying, “Yeah I got 4 tickets.” I scrolled through the texts to discover that my family and I were traveling to New York City the weekend before Thanksgiving for the Soulshine Benefit Concert. 

All of the artists joined together to perform “Come Together.” Photo credit: @davematthewsband on Instagram.

The Soulshine Benefit Concert on November 24 in Madison Square Garden featured several bands and artists, including Dave Matthews Band, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Warren Haynes Band, Goose, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, Phish’s Trey Anastasio, Mavis Staples, Robert Randolph, Joe Russo, and Trombone Shorty. I had not heard of many of these artist before, but I was thrilled to listen to the voices I knew and hear those I did not know.

While the performers made this concert a once-in-a-lifetime experience, this was more than just a show in one of the world’s most famous arenas. The net proceeds from this concert benefitted the Soulshine Concert Fund at the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation. From here, various non-profit organizations, including Habitat for Humanity’s 2024 Hurricane Recovery Fund, received the money to help recovery efforts in North Carolina and Florida after the severe tragedy left by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Shortly after the one-off show was announced, tickets were sold out. Therefore, a live stream and donation link stayed on the website.

Over the past few months, other concerts have been organized with the same goal in mind. In late October, the Concert for Carolina drew people from around the country to Charlotte. The concert featured many artists, such as Billy Strings, Luke Combs, and more. $24.5 million was raised to help victims of the storms. 

As I walked through the doors of Madison Square Garden the Sunday before Thanksgiving, I was greeted by a crowd of thousands. As soon as we got to our seats at 7:00 p.m., the show began. Matthews and Haynes started with Hayne’s “Soulshine.” A slow and mellow beat kicked off the concert before Goose notched it up. Goose, an “American indie-groove band from Connecticut,” started with one of their most popular songs, “Arcadia,” followed shortly after by “Hungersite,” where they were joined by the fantastic guitarist Trucks. The crowd rose from their seats chanting “Goooooooose” as soon as they walked off the stage. Although no one wanted them to leave, it was a great start to the show.

Goose on stage. Photo credit: Annie Reed.

As Goose finished their set, Trucks, his musical partner (and wife) Tedeschi, and Haynes began with the singing of Tedeschi’s “700 Houses.” The crowd went crazy as Tedeschi showed off her perfect voice. Haynes and Trucks remained on stage, where they began the Allman Brothers Band classic “Whipping Post,” a crowd favorite, which both guitarists spent years collaborating on as members of the band. Everyone jumped up from their seats and began jamming to the music.

From here the show was taken over by Rateliff & the Night Sweats. Features from Trombone Shorty, Anastasio, and Staples made his set stand out in the concert. My personal favorite was when Staples and Rateliff sang “Friendship” by J. Blackfoot. This slow but popular song had people swaying to the beat throughout the arena. A switch from the upbeat pace to a mellow vibe reminded me of the purpose of the concert. 

Dave Matthews on stage. Photo credit: Annie Reed.

Matthews joined Rateliff on stage, and alongside Tedeschi and Anastasio, the group sang “The Weight” by The Band. The crowd belted out the iconic lyrics—“Take a load off Fanny, and put the load right on me”—as they perfected one of my favorite songs. Matthews stole the show from here, playing some of his most popular songs, such as “So Much to Say” and “Jimi Thing,” followed by a cover of the Allman Brothers’ “Melissa” with Anastasio. 

To finish it off, all of the artists joined together in the singing of “Come Together” by The Beatles. People throughout the stadium jammed to the final beat of the night before heading back to their lives.

One of my favorite moments from the concert was when Mathews and Haynes sang “Carolina in My Mind,” written by James Taylor. The concert not only embraced beautiful music but also benefited the lives of so many in need. On each break in between the switching of bands, videos of victims from the hurricane appeared, showing the extent to which their lives were altered. It was heartbreaking to see the state of these people’s homes but reassuring to know that all proceeds from this event went directly to a hurricane relief fund. According to the organizers, overall this concert raised over $4.5 million for storm victims.

You can watch the whole show on YouTube. 

Featured image credit: Annie Reed.