Reba McEntire and Blake Shelton headed home to Oklahoma for ‘Tornado Relief Concert'

Earlier this month an EF-3 tornado hit Tushka in Atoka County in southeastern Oklahoma close to where McEntire was raised and not far from where Shelton lives. Now, the friends and native Oklahomans have chosen to host the “Tornado Relief Concert” on May 26 in partnership with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and Choctaw Casino Resort as a way to help their hometown neighbors.

The benefit concert will be at the Choctaw Event Center in Durant.

The April 14 tornado hit Tushka in late evening. There were two confirmed deaths, and more than 40 people were injured.

State officials said the tornado destroyed 150 homes and businesses and public buildings in and around the town. Another 47 had major damage, 33 had minor damage, and eight were mildly affected by the storm. All proceeds from the concert will go toward Atoka County's ongoing relief efforts through the Tushka Disaster Relief Fund.

McEntire was raised on her family's Chockie ranch in Atoka County and graduated from Kiowa High School in Pittsburg County. She was actually a student at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant when the late Clem McSpadden hired her to sing the national anthem at the 1974 National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City.

“A lot of people lost a great deal in this disaster and it's particularly close to us because we both consider Oklahoma home,” said McEntire. “We wanted to do something and let the people in Oklahoma know that we love them and we're praying for them during this difficult tragedy.”