EDMONTON -- Local country music singer Brett Kissel is hosting a benefit concert in Edmonton to raise money for the relief effort in Nashville, after a tornado tore through parts of that city.

The concert, at The Station on Jasper, sold out five minutes after going on sale, said Kissel. All proceeds from the show Wednesday night are going to The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

"I'm really excited that Edmonton is opening up their hearts and opening up their wallets for their sister city," said Kissel. "It's a great opportunity for all of us to give back."

The concert is going to be "layered" said Kissel, starting with just him and his guitar, before adding more and more band members to the stage.

Kissel grew up in Flat Lake, Alta., and now lives with his wife and children part time in Nashville's Germantown neighbourhood.

Kissel and his wife Cecilia were at a bar in south-central Nashville when the emergency alert went out across the city.

"That's when my heart sunk, knowing that it was going through Germantown, where our life is," said Kissel. "It was hard not to panic when you know something like that is going on."

The pair weren't drinking, so Kissel said they gave people rides home if they lived in unaffected areas.

"Ubers weren't running, taxis weren't running, we were just driving people home," said Kissel.

"When we finally returned to Germantown, we saw signs down, trees down, buildings obliterated. It was like a scene out of The Walking Dead to be honest. It was like a movie."

The Kissels' home was untouched by the tornado, however it was without power like many neighbourhoods in the city.

The family flew to Alberta the morning after the tornado hit Nashville. Unable to help out in Nashville in the immediate aftermath of the tornado, Kissel decided that there was no better place to try and raise money for relief, than Nashville's sister-city, Edmonton.

"I just believe people in the province of Alberta, and people in Edmonton in particular and the surrounding area probably have the biggest hearts in all of the country," said Kissel.

"My goal through music is to help out any way that I can," said Kissel. "As far as just rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands dirty, we plan on doing that the minute we get back to Nashville."

The concert is sold-out, but you can still donate to the tornado relief effort at www.cfmt.org.