Georgetown County, S.C. — Spring in Georgetown County brings a lot to look forward to. The weather gets warmer, the flowers are in bloom and – in recent years – country music star Jason Michael Carroll comes back to Front Street to perform for fans.
What started out as a one-time gig to celebrate Georgetown County’s hosting of its first Bassmaster Elite series in 2016 has now become an annual tradition both Carroll and county residents look forward to.
“I just fell in love with the community there,” Carroll said in March from his home in Youngsville, N.C. “Georgetown has one of those senses of community that a lot of places don’t have anymore. It has that sense that everybody knows everybody, and even the people they don’t know, they’re happy to see them. That’s part of the reason my wife and I always look forward to coming back and have had conversations about possibly moving there one day. We can’t wait to get back to Georgetown.”
Carroll and his family will return to Georgetown in April, when Carroll is scheduled to give his fourth annual live performance on Front Street. The show, organized and funded by the Georgetown Business Association, is set for Saturday, April 13, from 6-9 p.m. at Francis Marion Park. Young talent Presley Barker will open, with Carroll taking the stage at around 7 p.m. General admission is free, but VIP tickets, which include a meet and greet reception with Carroll, are available through the Business Association.
The night prior will bring another free country music show, this one with Collin Raye, also from 6-9 p.m. at Francis Marion Park. Opening act will be the Josh Brannon Band. Again, VIP tickets are available.
As with Carroll’s subsequent performances, the concert series has again been scheduled in celebration of a Bassmaster event. The Bassmaster Elite series – the highest level of professional bass fishing tournaments – will take place on Winyah Bay April 11-14. The tournament will bring about 80 anglers to Georgetown, including familiar faces and rising stars, along with fishing fans. Many anglers will come with families in tow. This adds up to a good sales week for local businesses.
“It’s a great reason for us to want to celebrate, and these concerts are a fun way to do it,” said Michele Overton, owner of Going Coastal Realty and a member of the Business Association who organizes the concerts for the Association every year. “These concerts not only give visitors who are in for the tournament something really unique and exciting to do after the daily weigh-ins are done, but it gets visitors and locals downtown, and really brings in its own set of visitors. We have people who come in every year from as far as New York just to see Jason perform in an intimate setting like the one we offer here.”
Carroll rose to fame in 2004 after being discovered at a local talent competition. He is best known for chart toppers including “Alyssa Lies,” Livin’ Our Love Song,” “Where I’m From,” and “I Can Sleep When I’m Dead.” Just last year, the singer and songwriter branched out into acting with the motion picture “Strings.”
Collin Ray made a name for himself as “one of the true hit makers of the 1990s,” and continues to crank out soulful, heartfelt material. He has 24 Top Ten records and 16 No. 1 hits. He is best known for songs including “Love, Me,” “Little Rock,” “One Boy, One Girl,” and “That’s My Story.”
Also taking place in Georgetown in conjunction with the Bassmaster Elite Series is the 2019 Winyah Bay Heritage Festival on April 13 and 14. The festival will take place at the Campbell Marine Complex and will include activities including wildlife- and nature-based lectures and demonstrations, a cast net demonstration, retriever demonstrations from Palmetto Gun Dogs, a youth duck calling clinc, the state duck calling championships and a variety of activities for kids. Look for a complete festival schedule the first week in April. For more information about the tournament and the festival, visit www.fishgeorgetown.com.
For more information on the concerts and how to purchase VIP tickets, visit www.georgetownseaport.com.