Kings of Leon to headline Oklahoma storm benefit concert

Kings Of Leon and The Flaming Lips are staging an Oklahoma storms benefit at the same arena Blake Shelton used for his televised charity concert last month (May13).

The two groups, who have ties to the state, will join Jackson Browne and Built to Spill at the Rock For Oklahoma concert on 28 July at Chesapeake Arena in Oklahoma City. All proceeds from the gig will benefit Oklahoma tornado victims.

Announcing the news on Wednesday (12Jun13), Kings of Leon frontman Jared Followill tells newspaper the Tulsa World, "We couldn't be more proud to lend a hand to our home state. We were all devastated by what happened there... We have family and friends that were affected by the tornadoes... This is the least we could do."

Fellow native and The Flaming Lips singer Wayne Coyne, whose home suffered flood damage as a result of the storms, adds, "Shakespeare said, 'It is not enough to help the needy up, but to support them after,' and in our small way we are trying to not just be here at the moment of immediate need, but to stay and help with the rebuilding. After all, this is our home and they (victims) are us and we are them."

Blake Shelton's Healing in the Heartland: Relief Benefit Concert, which featured performances from his wife Miranda Lambert, Usher, Reba McEntire and Vince Gill, raised over $6 million (GBP3.9 million) for the recovery effort in Moore, Oklahoma, which was left ravaged by a deadly twister last month.

Garth Brooks, Ronnie Dunn and Toby Keith are also planning a benefit concert for the storm victims later this summer (13).