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Tuesday, 21 July 2026
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Written by Amanda Ransom
While summer in Fayetteville brings backyard barbecues, festivals and outdoor concerts, it also means another exciting season of baseball at Segra Stadium. As the second half of the season gets underway, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers are finding their stride on the field while continuing to provide entertainment. Although the season began with a 2-10 record, the Woodpeckers have rallied in recent weeks and are once again competing near the top of the standings.
"We got off to a slow start," said Andrew Chapman of the Fayetteville Woodpeckers. "We turned the record around with a strong June. We didn't win the first half, but in our league the records reset at the midway point of the season, and we're currently in first place in the North Division during the second half."
The turnaround has not only put the Woodpeckers back in the playoff race, but it has also showcased the organization's commitment to developing the next generation of Major League talent. Fans visiting Segra Stadium this summer have the chance to watch some of the Astros' top prospects before they climb the minor league ladder.
"Kevin Alvarez is the No. 1 prospect in the Astros farm system," Chapman said. "At just 18 years old, he combines contact hitting, speed on the bases and outstanding defensive instincts in the outfield."
Chapman also pointed to 19-year-old Xavier Neyens, Houston's 2025 first-round draft pick.
"He has big league-caliber power and a great eye at the plate," Chapman said. "He's currently leading the Carolina League in walks."
Player development remains the club's top priority. At the Single-A level, coaches focus on building routines that prepare athletes for long-term success.
"It's all about reps and settling into professional baseball," Chapman said. "Our coaches emphasize strength training, nutrition and constant work in the batting cages and bullpen to put players in the best position to succeed."
The hard work has already produced results. Pitcher Javier Perez threw eight shutout innings in May, the longest outing by a Woodpeckers pitcher in franchise history, earning Carolina League Pitcher of the Week honors. Alvarez and Waner Luciano have also been recognized as Carolina League Players of the Week.
While fans celebrate player success, promotions within the Astros organization can be bittersweet.
"Our fans get very invested in our players," Chapman said. "They're excited to see them continue chasing the dream of reaching the major leagues, but they also miss seeing some of their favorite players here in Fayetteville."
While baseball draws fans to Segra Stadium, the entertainment extends well beyond the game itself.
"Beyond high-level baseball on the field every night, each game has something unique for fans to experience," Chapman said.
Weekly promotions include Thursday drink specials, Friday fireworks, Saturday giveaways and Sunday's opportunity for children to run the bases and play catch on the field. Special events later this summer include Moana at the Ballpark on July 31 and Hockey Night on Aug. 15, featuring a Carolina Hurricanes-inspired replica jersey giveaway.
General Manager Michelle Skinner says the team's connection with the community remains one of its greatest strengths.
"The Fayetteville community has continued to support the Woodpeckers throughout the rainy days and high temperatures," Skinner said. "We've remained encouraged by the loyal fans, local businesses and community organizations that continue to attend games and partner with us."
The organization also hopes Segra Stadium serves as more than a baseball venue.
"We want Segra Stadium to be the central hub for entertainment in Fayetteville," Chapman said. "Not just for baseball, but also charity events, holiday parties, watch parties and business networking."
With 21 home games remaining through the end of August before the regular season concludes on Sept. 6, there is still plenty of baseball left to enjoy.
"If you haven't made it out to Segra Stadium yet this season, there's still time," Skinner said. "Invite your neighbors, co-workers and friends and come check out a game."
For tickets, visit https://bit.ly/4f0QQQD
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Tuesday, 21 July 2026
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Written by Jamie Bishop
There are artists who reinvent themselves every few years to keep pace with the industry. Then there is Gary Allan. For nearly 30 years, Allan has made a career doing something increasingly uncommon in music—remaining unapologetically himself.
On Aug. 6, the country music mainstay will bring his catalog of hits to the Crown Theatre in Fayetteville, offering audiences an evening that feels less like a greatest hits performance and more like a conversation between an artist and the people who have been listening to him for generations.
The California native has never fit neatly inside Nashville’s boxes. Too gritty for polished country pop and too introspective for traditional honky-tonk stereotypes, Allan has occupied a space entirely his own since releasing his debut album, Used Heart for Sale, in 1996.
That may explain why his music ages so well. When listeners revisit songs like Smoke Rings in the Dark, Watching Airplanes, Man to Man or Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain) years later, they tend to hear something different than they did the first time around. What sounded like heartbreak at 25 often sounds like resilience at 45. His music grows alongside its audience.
Perhaps that is why Allan’s fanbase has remained remarkably loyal through changing musical tastes and industry trends. He isn’t chasing viral moments or reinventing himself for streaming platforms. He’s simply telling the truth as he understands it.
Over the course of his career, Allan has sold more than eight million albums worldwide, earned multiple platinum certifications and produced five No. 1 singles and fourteen Top 10 country hits. Yet numbers alone fail to explain his staying power. Country music has always had exceptional singers and gifted songwriters. What Allan possesses is something more difficult to manufacture: believability.
When he sings about loss, listeners believe him.
When he sings about redemption, they believe that too.
His music has been shaped not only by professional success but also by profound personal tragedy. Following the death of his wife, Angela, in 2004, Allan stepped away from music before eventually returning with some of the most vulnerable work of his career. Rather than hiding from grief, songs like Life Ain’t Always Beautiful embraced it.
That willingness to sit honestly with difficult emotions has become one of the defining characteristics of his music. In interviews throughout his career, Allan has repeatedly spoken about refusing to record songs simply because they’re commercially successful. If he doesn’t believe a song, he won’t sing it. It’s a philosophy that has sometimes made him an outlier in Nashville, but it has also preserved something increasingly valuable: authenticity.
It’s difficult to mistake a Gary Allan record for anyone else’s. That same authenticity follows him onto the stage.
Unlike many contemporary arena productions built around elaborate visual effects, Allan’s live performances remain rooted in the music itself. Fans know what they’re getting when they purchase a ticket: a gravelly voice that sounds remarkably similar to the records they’ve loved for decades and an artist more interested in connecting than performing perfection.
His upcoming appearance also continues the Crown Complex’s efforts to bring nationally touring artists to Fayetteville. Rather than requiring local audiences to travel to larger markets, performances like Allan’s provide opportunities for residents throughout Cumberland County to experience world-class entertainment close to home.
For country music fans, however, the appeal goes beyond convenience.
Gary Allan represents something increasingly uncommon in entertainment: a career built slowly, honestly and without compromise. He has outlasted musical trends not because he adapted himself to fit them, but because he trusted audiences to appreciate something genuine.
Nearly three decades later, it appears they still do.
Gary Allan will perform Wednesday, Aug. 6, at 7:30 p.m. at the Crown Theatre in Fayetteville. Tickets are available through the Crown Complex at https://www.crowncomplexnc.com/ or by calling the box office at 910-438-4100.
Some artists become famous because they capture a moment in time. Others endure because they remind us that some stories and some voices never really go out of style.
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