In response to the Oklahoma disaster, country singer and ‘The Voice” co-host Blake Shelton teamed up with NBC to organize the Healing in the Heartland benefit concert at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in downtown Oklahoma City.
The charity telethon, which airs live on NBC tonight at 9 p.m. EST, will feature appearances and performances from the likes of Shelton’s wife Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Rascal Flatts, Usher, Darius Rucker and Shelton himself. The program will also air on Bravo, E! and CMT, among other cable networks, on either a live or delayed basis. All proceeds from the telethon will benefit the United Way of Central Oklahoma May Tornadoes Relief Fund, which will use the fund for immediate, intermediate and long-term recovery and rebuilding efforts.
Event organizers will simultaneously host a charity auction on eBay, which will be promoted during the broadcast. The charity auction will feature event tickets and celebrity experiences from performers and supporters. In particular, nationally syndicated country music radio show “The Bobby Bones Show” has donated over 50 items and experiences to the eBay charity auction, with all proceeds benefitting American Red Cross Disaster Relief.
“Everyone has their way to help, and mine as an entertainer is to perform to help raise money and awareness for this tragedy,” Shelton said on his website.
“The outpouring of support from the Country music community has been amazing,” added Bones. “This is yet another great example of Country music banding together to help those in need.”
Photograph courtesy of Blake Shelton’s Twitter feed.