THE smoke may not have completely cleared from last week's devastating Coalfields bushfire, but Hunter musicians are already uniting to assist in the recovery.
Abermain venue Qirkz In The Hunter (formerly the Denman Hotel) will host concerts on Thursday and Friday to help residents impacted by the blaze.
At least 17 homes and businesses were destroyed or damaged in the 847-hectare bushfire, which stretched across Abermain, Weston and Kurri Kurri.
Qirkz was forced to evacuate last Thursday afternoon when flames reached bushland adjacent to the venue on Cessnock Road.
Qirkz owner Yaron Hallis made several phone calls this week to contacts in the local music community and was ecstatic with the response.
"Anybody that was free on those nights was completely happy to jump in and be a part of it," Mr Hallis said.
ARIA Award-winning Bellbird artist William Crighton, Kurri Kurri-raised singer-songwriter Melody Pool and 16-year-old Abermain country singer McKenzie Lee will perform at Qirkz on Thursday night from 8pm in the first Gather Round fundraiser.
Gather Round continues on Friday night with Newcastle country star Catherine Britt, Cessnock's Anna Weatherup and Newcastle rockabilly band The Flattrakkers.
Mr Hallis said the "last-minute" nature of the shows was not ideal from a promotional point of view, but he wanted to get funds into the community as soon as possible.
"It would have been great to organise something for a month or two away, as everyone is still reeling from the effects of it," Mr Hallis said.
"Going into Christmas we were so aware of the families losing everything - no home, no possessions - so we thought we had to do something now."
Coalfields resident Courtney Stride is coordinating the fundraising efforts, which will be dispersed across at least six families impacted by the fire.
The home of Ms Stride's friends Kylie and Corey Solomons in Embelton Street, Weston was destroyed by the bushfire.
"We're trying to really band together to see what we can do," Ms Stride said.
"Some [homes] are insured, some aren't, and Christmas is a couple of days away and we just want to make sure nobody has to worry about Christmas and food, and they can sit down to a Christmas lunch and not stress about things."
There are four ticket classes available to the two shows, ranging from $40 to $100. Punters can also donate to the bushfire relief on the night.
The two Qirkz concerts are the latest in an outpouring of community support in the Coalfields since last week's fire.
Several GoFundMe sites have been launched to raise funds for victims of the bushfire and Abermain Hall has become a collection point for people to donate clothes, toiletries and Christmas toys.
