Eric Church performs ‘Darkest Hour’ at the 2024 CMA Awards

Eric Church paid tribute to his home state of North Carolina and those affected by the flooding of Hurricane Helene with a performance of “Darkest Hour” at the 2024 CMA Awards.

Dressed in a black velvet blazer and accompanied by a choir (including longtime vocal foil Joanna Cotten), a horn section and strings, Church delivered a magnificent version of the song, which he hastily released last month to help raise funds for disaster relief. “I’ll do anything in my power/To take another minute from your darkest hour,” he sang in a falsetto on the CMAs stage.

Like the live version he played at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, the recorded version of “Darkest Hour,” which he released as the “Helene Edit,” features strings, a choir, and production by Jay Joyce. The song evokes the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the band and the symphonic compositions of Queen or more recently Verve. It’s seventies rock opera crossed with Church’s rough-hewn mountain country, all built on the skeleton of his much-talked-about Stagecoach headline set.

On Tuesday night, Church played an intimate concert with a full band at his Nashville bar Chief’s, which streamed live on SiriusXM. While the set included his own hits like “How ‘Bout You,” “Homeboy” and “Springsteen,” it was mostly a tribute to Church’s influence: He sang covers of Bob Seger, The Band, Hank Williams Jr., and more, culminating with a reading of Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road”.

The church has pledged to sign over all royalties from “Darkest Hour” in perpetuity to the state of North Carolina to further aid in the rebuilding effort.

“‘Darkest Hour’ is a song dedicated to the unsung heroes, the people who emerge when the world falls apart,” he said in a statement. “This is for the people who show up in the hardest times, lend a hand when it’s most needed, and stand tall when others can’t. Even in your darkest hour, they come running. When the night is at its blackest, is this for those who hold the light, guide the lost and pull us through.”