Hearby Cares initiative

Photo Credit: Hearby Cares

Area4Labs’ Hearby Cares is a new AI-powered initiative to highlight live benefit shows providing relief for areas affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

The team at Area4Labs says they created the initiative to provide a comprehensive benefit show list and a map to maximize awareness and attendance of these important recovery effort live shows. Hearby Cares is a team-wide, collaborative effort to highlight benefit shows, collect event data, and showcase more than 100 benefit shows across the United States.

The existing Hearby venue and event database helped the team fine-tune their data collection practices to identify benefit shows. Shows highlighted by Hearby Cares vary greatly in size, from small listening rooms to stadiums with a capacity for 70,000+ people in attendance. Benefit shows for hurricane relief have raised millions of dollars, while others provide necessary supplies for victims of these natural disasters to get back on their feet. Area4Labs says they view this project as a way to filter and present event data for communities that deserve extra attention.

“Across the Hearby team, we are at our core a group of musicians and music fans with a deep love for local music scenes. Hearby Cares is an initiative born from our appreciation of the Appalachian music scene, from North Carolina through Tennessee and beyond, and our want to help that region after the devastation brought about by recent hurricanes and flooding,” the Area4Labs team told Digital Music News.

“Through Hearby Cares, we have been able to cover over 100 benefit shows (and counting) across the United States that all have a mission to help those in need. Looking ahead, we see tremendous value in Hearby Cares and our ability to quickly react to social and cultural movements, and to highlight the events surrounding them.”

Several high-profile artists have stepped up to help these regions struck by hurricanes. Morgan Wallen donated $500,000 to the Red Cross for relief, while Dolly Parton donated $1 million to recovery efforts. North Carolina natives Luke Combs and Eric Church recently led a benefit ‘Concert for Carolina’ that managed to raise $24.5 million for relief efforts—particularly around Asheville.