New York has always been a beacon of hope and a refuge to people from across the globe and New Yorkers welcome the victims of Hurricane Katrina with open arms.

Billy in New York is always special. He played nine Nassau (Long Island) Coliseum shows in 1998. We've done two Yankee Stadiums and two Giant Stadiums on the same tour.

In New York this would be $2 million ... I am very happy. Two bedrooms, dining room, and a den, brand new everything I wanted.

If a voice like this cannot be heard on a New York stage, what hope is there for anyone else?

I did not know anything about his history as an actor in New York. He was a total stranger to me. He was very low-key.

I'm from New York. I have a big mouth, and I hope we raise lots of money tonight and, more than that, the spirit of Mississippi because that has to happen. We have to bring it all back together again and feel it rising again.