Gallery: Carolina Country Music Fest 2021 Recap
Sunday night, before headliner Luke Combs took the stage at the Carolina Country Music Fest, the words “But there’ll be crowds and there’ll be shows” appeared on the stage. Those words, written in white on a black background were from the song “Six Feet Apart” Combs penned during quarantine. And to me, there wasn’t a better way, to sum up, the entirety of the weekend.
I’ve been lucky enough to attend every year of “CCMF” and have always had a blast. But this year was different. The headliners and most of the support acts were scheduled to hit that beachfront stage in June of 2020. But of course, that didn’t happen. For an entire year, live music didn’t really happen. So when most of the acts took the stage this past weekend it was their first true show in at least 15 months. And they knew it. The crowd knew it. And it made the weekend that much more special.
Almost every act addressed it, many mentioned how many songs they had never played live before. Luke Combs had had 4 number songs he’d never played in front of a crowd. Kelsea Ballerini released an album the week the world shut down. Every single artist played with an energy and passion that you just had to witness. Some teared up at moments like hearing the crowd sing the words back to them. Some stood there in awe. But it wasn’t just the artists, many of the people in that 35,000 person crowd hadn’t been at a show in years. Everyone had the time of their lives and was just happy to be there. It was a beautiful sight to witness that massive crowd. And live music again.
Enjoy some photos of the highlights of the weekend if you missed it. Interested in attending the 2022 Carolina Country Music Fest? Get info and tickets here. Trust me it’s going to be a GREAT lineup!
