NEW ORLEANS Country music star Faith Hill headlined a free concert in New Orleans on Tuesday to show support for those still rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina.
“We are here for you still and you are not forgotten,” the five-time Grammy Award winner told the audience at Mahalia Jackson Theatre.
She said the event, titled Tide Loads of Hope Presents: A Celebration of Hope with Faith Hill, was intended to celebrate how far the Gulf Coast has come since the 2005 storm flooded New Orleans and surrounding areas of Louisiana and Mississippi.
Hill, a Mississippi native, said she felt it was her “responsibility to give back” and also urged people to support New Orleans and other coastal communities whose livelihoods are now threatened by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
“My message is ‘Come to New Orleans and experience this great city.’ Yes, there are places that are still rebuilding and are not quite back yet, but when they do come back, they’ll come back better.”
She and her husband, country singer Tim McGraw, who is a Louisiana native, are both known for their efforts to help raise money or awareness for causes.
Back in June, the couple helped organize a flood-relief benefit concert for Nashville after the Tennessee city was deluged by historic rains that left 22 dead in early May.
“Sometimes, with celebrity, you can make things happen pretty easily,” Hill said. “When you’ve been given so much, it’s only right that I do what I can to help, if I can.”
