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Tuesday, 13 October 2026
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Written by Jamie Bishop
Before a country song becomes a radio hit, it is often only a voice, a guitar and a story shared in a Nashville room. Stars and Guitars brings that room to Fayetteville then opens the door to thousands of listeners.
The 95.7 WKML concert returns Monday, Nov. 9, to Crown Coliseum with Rodney Atkins, The Band Perry, Josh Ross, Drew Baldridge and Cole Goodwin. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the show begins at 7 p.m. Parking is free.
Unlike a conventional concert, Stars and Guitars does not send out a succession of opening acts before saving the largest name for last. All five artists share the stage in an acoustic guitar pull, moving through songs, memories, and unscripted exchanges together. Each performer gets an individual moment, but no one disappears after a set.
Sarah Weaver, WKML program director and morning host, said the arrangement lets listeners feel as though they have entered the studio or writers’ room with the artists.
That closeness can produce moments unavailable on a carefully choreographed tour. Weaver has watched artists premiere songs, add harmonies to one another’s music and reach past expected singles for album cuts rarely heard in concert. They have traded jokes, explained the experiences behind familiar lyrics, and joined together on beloved throwback songs.
The result is not simply a stripped-down concert. It is a public conversation among musicians at different points in their careers and between artists and an audience that can hear the person behind the polished recording.
“It’s not just about the music; it’s about hearing the stories behind the songs and creating a connection between the artists and the audience,” said Gary Rogers of the Crown Complex.
Creating that connection begins long before the stools and microphones reach the stage. Weaver keeps close watch on Nashville, develops relationships, and evaluates performers from several angles. A chart position matters, but so do artistic chemistry, online presence, touring history, writing relationships and the possibility that an unfamiliar voice may become the audience’s next favorite.
“You’re almost playing a fortune teller,” Weaver said. “Who do I see having a future No. 1 song? Who do I see having a long-standing career?”
Atkins, whose hits include “Watching You,” “These Are My People” and “Take a Back Road,” brings a familiar voice and a direct connection to the event’s history. He appeared in the inaugural 2012 lineup, making his return a bridge between longtime attendees and the show Stars and Guitars has become.
The Band Perry brings a catalog led by “If I Die Young,” along with a history of crossover success and reinvention. Baldridge arrives with an independent path that carried “She’s Somebody’s Daughter” to the top of the Country Aircheck/Mediabase chart after he invested in rebuilding his career and audience.
Ross, Weaver said, is likely to be a major draw for younger fans. The Canadian-born singer has scored multiple No. 1 songs and previously performed at the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival. His return places current momentum inside a setting built for storytelling.
Goodwin may be the evening’s discovery. The Georgia singer-songwriter works in a traditional country lane and is close friends with Zach Top, another artist whose rise offers WKML a useful point of comparison. Weaver recalled booking Top before his career accelerated and saw Goodwin as a natural addition.
“Who is someone our audience will see for the first time and become as enamored with them as I am?” Weaver said of the selection process.
That willingness to pair established names with emerging performers gives the evening its tension. Listeners may arrive for a song they already know and leave talking about the artist they had never heard. Rogers said WKML consistently assembles established performers, current favorites, and rising talent, keeping the tradition recognizable without allowing it to become predictable.
The Crown’s role is to make a large arena feel intimate enough for a raised eyebrow, an unexpected harmony, or a half-finished story to reach the seats. Rogers credits the WKML team’s creativity and dedication, while also pointing to the local businesses that support the concert throughout the community.
“It truly feels like a community-wide effort,” he said.
Behind that effort is a year-round process of review. After each concert, Weaver and the WKML team examine what worked and what did not. Their discussion reaches beyond the stage to food, beverages, artist satisfaction, staff assignments, partnerships, and the unseen work that shapes a guest’s evening.
Weaver’s target is deliberately modest and demanding: make the event 2% better every year.
That improvement may be invisible when it succeeds. The audience should notice the song, not the machinery surrounding it. The artists should have room to listen and respond. The evening should feel spontaneous, even though a team has spent months preparing the conditions for spontaneity.
Limited tickets remained available when organizers responded for this story, and Rogers noted that the concert traditionally sells out. Fans should use WKML and official Crown ticket channels for current availability. The Crown Coliseum is at 1960 Coliseum Drive.
The names on the bill will bring people through the doors. What happens after they sit down is the reason many return: five careers sharing one stage, five catalogs crossing in real time and the possibility that a familiar song will reveal something new.
For one night, the arena becomes a writers’ room. Fayetteville gets a seat inside it.
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Tuesday, 13 October 2026
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Written by Tiffany Haywood
The park’s first haunted trail blends local history and Halloween fun while spotlighting its lesser-known Sandhills access.
Did you know you can turn off Ramsey Street and, within minutes, trade Fayetteville traffic for miles of trails winding through a longleaf pine forest?
If your answer is no, you are not alone. I had no clue either.
Jonelle Kimbrough, a member of Friends of Carvers Creek State Park and one of the organizers behind Shadows in the Pines, said the group had been looking for creative ways to introduce more people to the park, particularly its Sandhills access in Fayetteville. Opened in 2019, the entrance remains less familiar to many residents than the park’s Long Valley Farm access near Spring Lake.
“A lot of us really like Halloween and hiking, so we decided to combine our love for Halloween and our love for hiking into a haunted trail at the park,” Kimbrough said.
To me, it sounds like the Friends group may have found the perfect way to bring the two together.
That idea became Shadows in the Pines, the group’s first haunted trail and fundraiser.
On Oct. 24, the trail will take visitors on a nighttime journey through the park’s longleaf pine forest.
For roughly 35 minutes, visitors will travel approximately one-eighth of a mile along a flat, sandy trail, where they may encounter ghostly early settlers and creatures drawn from Celtic mythology.
Once darkness falls, the pines will have some ghostly company.
Kimbrough said the trail will mix jump scares with atmospheric, psychological suspense, but the goal is not to leave visitors terrified. She recommends the trail for visitors ages 10 and older.
“It’s not like being inside of a slasher movie or anything like that,” she said.
The haunt also pulls from the history of the Cape Fear and Sandhills regions, where Highland Scots began settling during the 1700s. Rather than turning the evening into a full history lesson, the trail will use characters and storytelling to pay homage to the area’s early European settlement. Some of those settlers may even return as ghostly residents with stories to tell.
Many know Fayetteville is full of history. This Halloween, some of it may come back to haunt us.
Shadows in the Pines gives residents a reason to visit after dark, but the Friends group hopes the experience will encourage them to return during the day and explore more of what the park offers.
Each $5 admission donation will support environmental education and recreational programming organized by Friends of Carvers Creek State Park in partnership with North Carolina State Parks.
The local group is part of the larger Friends of North Carolina State Parks network.
That programming includes bug safaris and a monthly photography contest featuring images visitors take inside the park. The group is also developing a quiet book club where people can gather to read their own books and only discuss them if they want to.
Between you and me, a book club where talking is optional might be another hidden gem.
The Sandhills access is located at 995 McCloskey Road and can be reached from Ramsey Street.
“It’s miles and miles of trails through longleaf pine forests, so it’s a great place to take your kids, take your dogs and just spend a day enjoying the natural beauty of our area,” Kimbrough said.
The Friends group is still seeking actors and volunteers for Shadows in the Pines.
The event will take place Saturday, Oct. 24, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Admission is a $5 donation per person and will be collected on site. There are no advance or timed tickets; visitors will enter the trail in the order they arrive.
Guests should also bring a reusable bag for trick-or-treating — because even a haunted forest can keep Halloween environmentally friendly.
“We would love for them to have a better understanding and appreciation of the natural beauty here in the Sandhills and of the very rich history that we have here,” Kimbrough said.
The ghostly residents may disappear after Halloween, but organizers hope visitors will return to explore what remains waiting in the pines.
(Photos courtesy of Jonelle Kimbrough)
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