{"id":50021,"date":"2025-07-09T00:17:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T00:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/50021\/"},"modified":"2025-07-09T00:17:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T00:17:09","slug":"fort-worth-musician-raises-over-337000-for-texas-flood-survivors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/50021\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Worth musician raises over $337,000 for Texas flood survivors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fort Worth musician Josh Weathers and his band raised more than $337,000 in four hours for families affected by the flooding in Central Texas. <\/p>\n

Weathers, who had been scheduled to perform in New Braunfels and Orange Grove over the weekend, hosted a virtual charity concert July 7 after both of his other shows were canceled due to weather.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a musician and being a Texas artist specifically, Hill Country is one of the heartbeats of Texas music,\u201d Weathers said. \u201cWe were like, well, we\u2019ve got to do something. We\u2019ll just turn it into a fundraiser and encourage people to donate.\u201d <\/p>\n

Initially, Weathers thought he might just livestream a solo concert on his phone like he had during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

News Roundups<\/p>\n

Catch up on the day’s news you need to know.<\/p>\n

Related:As flood death toll climbs, Gov. Abbott says over 160 still missing in Kerr County<\/a><\/p>\n

But he wanted to get his band involved, and, after making some calls, he had a new venue. <\/p>\n

The Heights Church, which Weathers attends, allowed the band to perform in its Cleburne space and take advantage of its livestreaming set up. Friends stepped up to help with organization, graphics and web content.<\/p>\n

After posting about the concert, someone reached out to his wife, Kady Weathers, on Facebook and offered to donate baked goods for the cause.<\/p>\n

The family wondered if anyone else might have items they\u2019d like to donate.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wife put a message out on Facebook and I mean, it went crazy,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

A $12,000 riding lawn mower. A trip to Belize. Hog hunts. Duck hunts. A gumbo and shrimp boil for 100 guests. The number of donations was so large that on top of the bidding that took place during the livestream, the group opened up a silent auction page online<\/a>. <\/p>\n

It all came together so quickly that Weathers said he hasn\u2019t had time to go back and look at how many people joined the streams on YouTube and Instagram. But he did know that the Facebook livestream had more than 100,000 views by the end of the concert. <\/p>\n

Related:Guadalupe River flood disaster: Here\u2019s what to know<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe were 10 minutes in and there was $10,000 already on the board,\u201d Weathers said. \u201cI thought, my goodness, that\u2019s $1,000 a minute. What\u2019s going to happen?\u201d<\/p>\n

Every dollar, Weathers said, will go directly to the families who were impacted by the flooding. He and his team are working with local authorities in Kerr County and the surrounding area to connect with families in need.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether your house was destroyed or you lost your car or you lost a loved one and now you\u2019ve got to take care of some funeral services that you were not expecting \u2026 We just thought what if we could take the financial stress off of these folks,\u201d Weathers said. <\/p>\n

The final fundraising tally won\u2019t be known until after midnight when the silent auction closes.<\/p>\n