Printer Friendly

URL: http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/7666245/country_benefit_postponed

Rollingstone.com

Back to Country Benefit Postponed

Country Benefit Postponed

Katrina show cancelled because of Hurricane Rita

TRACEY FORD

Posted Sep 23, 2005 12:00 AM

Advertisement


Country Music Television's One Country, a Hurricane Katrina relief concert to be broadcast live from Houston's Reliant Stadium on October 1st, has been postponed indefinitely due to Hurricane Rita. Kenny Chesney, Willie Nelson, ZZ Top, Alan Jackson, Martina McBride and George Strait were among the artists set to perform.

Organizers of the benefit -- to be produced entirely with donated equipment and services, including sound, lights and staging -- were planning to donate all proceeds from ticket sales and concessions to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

With an estimated 2 million Texas and Louisiana residents being ordered to evacuate this week, Houston, a city that provided refuge for Katrina victims, is expected to catch the worst of Rita. Weather experts are predicting that the Category 3 hurricane will hit the Central Texas coast between Galveston and Corpus Christi this weekend.

Houston's Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion has also cancelled its weekend shows, which include concerts by Journey, Coldplay and Oasis. However, the Austin City Limits outdoor festival -- taking place in the state's capital, 160 miles west of Houston -- is expected to go on as planned. Coldplay and Oasis are among the scheduled performers, along with Lucinda Williams, Bloc Party, Lyle Lovett and Franz Ferdinand.