677. It is the number of miles that separate Asheville and New Orleans. It is a quarter of a continent. But when the images of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation poured into living rooms across the country, the impact of the disaster hit very close to home. Shots of the sheer ruin of the gulf coast inundated the 24-hour news cycle. As people across the country watched their neighbors coping with chaos, the desire to help those in need gripped the nation.

Here in Asheville, people opened their hearts, their homes and their checkbooks to give aid to those in need. At 8:00 on the evening of Friday, September 9, the Orange Peel Social Aid and Pleasure Club hosted the Hurricane Katrina Victims’ Benefit Concert. Featured artists were Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience, Colonel Bruce Hampton & the Code Talkers, and "Big Daddy" Steve McMurray. The event organizers invited a number of regional and national artists along with a few surprise appearances.

Bclip Productions of Asheville, NC, volunteered their time and resources to record the concert and produce a one-hour televised presentation of musical entertainment and personal interviews. Bclip coordinated with Charter Communications to air the show in the areas of Asheville, NC, and Greenville, SC.

Alfred Berlin is the CEO of Bclip Productions, and a native of Baton Rouge, LA. Berlin was in New Orleans days before the level 4 hurricane hit, preparing to open a new office in the Big Easy. “We want to bring this concert to people across the Carolinas,” Berlin said. “We want to extend the reach and breadth of this message, which is that we need to do all we can to help restore New Orleans and the gulf coast to the beautiful places we know and love.”

Tickets for the concert were $25 in advance and at the door. All net proceeds benefit organizations that give directly to victims of Hurricane Katrina. Donations of goods, services, gift certificates, pet care items and clothing will be distributed to local evacuees first, then to shelters, including those in Louisiana. The show will then air on Charter cable in Asheville and Greenville. Viewers will be able to call a number on the screen and make donations to charitable organizations.