Albuquerque Journal

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Country singer Randy Travis says he usually likes to have at least one month to prepare for a show, and some of his upcoming 52 concert dates are booked six months ahead.

But it took only two weeks for Travis and his manager/wife, Elizabeth Travis, to put together a benefit concert that raised $250,128 for New Mexico wildfire disaster relief.

"In only two weeks, that's unheard of," Randy Travis said in a phone interview from Santa Fe. Wednesday, he presented the check to the American Red Cross Santa Fe County Chapter. The check was the single largest donation the Red Cross has received for the fire relief, Santa Fe Chapter Executive Director Melanie Darling said.

Darling said the money will buy clothing, food and medical supplies for fire victims in northern and southern New Mexico. The concert was held May 28 at the Santa Fe Opera Theater, more than two weeks after the Cerro Grande Fire scorched thousands of acres in northern New Mexico, destroyed more than 200 homes in Los Alamos and forced the evacuation of the town.

Travis and his wife were in Reno, Nev., when they first heard about the fire and the damage it had done. "My wife said to me, 'I wonder if there's anything we can do to help.' " The couple, who own a home in Santa Fe, saw the destroyed homes and blackened countryside firsthand and spoke to some of the victims in Los Alamos.

"As we were riding through town I was trying to think what people might have felt like or how they may have acted when they saw their homes and there was nothing left," Randy Travis said. "I had never seen anything like it." For the next two weeks, Travis and his wife made several phone calls to advertisers, agents, restaurants and anyone who could help get the word out. With only a few days left before the performance, he said he still was wondering which songs he was going to play for the crowd.

"It really was very hectic," he said. The concert also featured performances from Melissa Etheridge, Gary Morris, Michael Martin Murphy and comedian Paul Rodriguez.

Elizabeth Travis organized a silent auction featuring donated artwork from Santa Fe galleries, and merchants also contributed to the effort. "She helped to raise an enormous amount of money in such a short period of time," Darling said.

"That was a great thing about the show, it was quite an array of talent," Travis said. "It was amazing to see how much everybody wanted to do this."