NASHVILLE, TENN. (November 9, 2005)—What started as a special event for the residents of Waveland, Mississippi, a city ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, turned into a life-changing experience for hit country singer Chely Wright.

On Sunday, November 6, Wright performed a free concert and signed autographs, including copies of her new CD, The Metropolitan Hotel, in a tent on the site where a Wal-Mart store once stood on Highway 90 in Waveland. Dr Pepper provided a free lunch. The event drew hundreds of local residents, who said the festivities gave them their first reason to smile in weeks.

Wright, who was on a Stars for Stripes tour performing for U.S. troops in remote parts of Afghanistan when Hurricane Katrina struck, was unprepared to see the devastation up close—boats and cars up in trees, and no houses for miles. “Meeting the people of Waveland and listening to their stories put a lot of things in perspective for me,” said Wright. “They said they were thrilled that I’d taken the time to go down there and take their minds off their struggles for a little while, but I’m sure I received much more in return. It was a life-changing experience.”

Wright took time to meet everyone who showed up for the event—so much time, in fact, that she needed a police escort to make it to her next CD signing that evening near Pensacola, Florida. The Pensacola in-store appearance was the fifth CD signing Wright hosted over the course of the weekend. On Friday she signed CD’s at the Wal-Mart store in Olive Branch, Mississippi, and on Saturday she signed at two Montgomery, Alabama area Wal-Mart stores.