After a mass shooting struck Khalid’s beloved 915, the singer organized a benefit concert for Sept. 1, the latest of his charitable acts.
Khalid was preparing to play Washington, D.C.'s Capital One Arena on his first U.S. headlining arena tour when he found out that a gunman had opened fire at a Walmart in his adopted hometown of El Paso, Texas, killing 22 people and injuring 24 others. After calling his friends and family, he learned that his mother had been planning to go to that very same Walmart later in the day.
"I was devastated," says the 21-year-old singer, who moved to the city with his family as a teenager. "I wanted to immediately give back, raise money, raise awareness and help in any way I could."
"He was ready to jump on a plane and leave the tour," says his manager, Courtney Stewart. The two made a plan: Khalid would forgo the scheduled break between legs of his Free Spirit Tour to host a benefit for the victims. The concert, dubbed A Night for Suncity, will be held at El Paso's 12,000-capacity Don Haskins Center on Sept. 1.