Five former US presidents take stage at hurricane benefit concert

Five former US presidents have put aside politics to unite the country after devastating hurricanes in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

Former Presidents from right, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter gather on stage during a hurricanes relief concert

Former Presidents from right, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter gather on stage during a hurricanes relief concert Source: AAP

The five living former US presidents have appeared together for the first time since 2013 at a concert to raise money for victims of devastating hurricanes in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

Democrats Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter and Republicans George HW and George W Bush gathered on stage in College Station, Texas, on Saturday, putting aside politics to try to unite the country after the storms.

The presidents have so far raised $US31 million ($A40 million) for hurricane victims.

Texas A&M is home to the presidential library of the elder Bush. At 93, he has a form of Parkinson's disease and appeared in a wheelchair at the event.
The concert features the country music band Alabama, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer 'Soul Man' Sam Moore, gospel legend Yolanda Adams and Texas musicians Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen.

Earlier President Donald Trump recorded a video greeting that avoids his past criticism of the former presidents and called them "some of America's finest public servants".

"This wonderful effort reminds us that we truly are one nation under God, all unified by our values and devotion to one another," Trump said in the message.

The last time the five were together was in 2013, when Obama was still in office, at the dedication of George W Bush's presidential library in Dallas.

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