Dillon Carmichael

Friday October 25, 2024

@ Pig Fest in Hendersonville, TN

(Review Written By: Jeffrey Kurtis)

What began as a community geared vision 5 years ago has continually experienced tremendous growth, expanding today into one of the most anticipated premier events in Sumner County, attracting folks from every corner of the county, all the surrounding local areas, and far beyond the stretches of the Tennessee state lines.

The 5^th Annual Hendersonville Pig Fest presented by Dude Wipes staked its weekend home at Hendersonville’s Veteran’s Park this past Friday and Saturday (Oct 25-26, 2024).

With a calendar lined in family-friendly events on Saturday that centered majority focus on its high stakes barbeque competition of nearly 50 registered teams, the pickleball and cornhole tournaments as well as the afternoon pig races and the whole hog cooking demonstration bore equal amounts of attention.

For us at TCM, and what felt like thousands of music lovers who ascended on Veteran’s Park, the Friday night Hendersonville Hometown Jam delivered an amazing opportunity to get up close and personal with a lineup that featured the hottest risers on the country music scene, a hitmaking songwriter, an artist with lineage of legendary status, and a rollicking performance by headliner Dillon Carmichael.  

As DJ Cliffy D spun the good time feels to ignite a pre-show dance party, the big time atmosphere held tightly to the small town aura as the crowd of neighbors, family, and friends gathered in conversation with smiles on their faces while welcoming a stranger like me into their circles in an embodiment of the idea that a stranger is just someone you hadn’t yet met.

Embracing a swaggered sassiness, country music starlet Julia Cole opened the night of live music with the addictively catchy “Country Sugar,” bookending with “Best Worst Ex” and “Spicy,” while softening the middle of her set into a pure highlight of her vocal prowess as she introduced her heart and soul through diary paged turned songs that included recent releases “Texas In Louisiana,” “Your Boy,” and the touching tribute to fathers, “Daddy Daughter Dance.”

Fusing country boy charm and modern era essence, hitmaking songwriter Ray Fulcher stamped the definitions of his artist side with a dynamic performance that saw him playing his biggest singles, “Girl In It” and “Anything Like You Dance,” while digging into his back catalog for the autobiographical “Selling Cars,” dedicating it to the dreamers, the believers, and the underdogs and eliciting cheers when mentioning his debut on the Grand Ole Opry and how the song became an exclamation point to knowing he was on his way to “making it” in music. 

The crowd having now filled to near capacity, everyone seemingly scooted their chairs a little closer to the stage to soak in the throwback atmosphere of what was about to happen.

The most requested return ask to come back and play the Hendersonville Hometown Jam, Ben Chapman, anchored the middle of the night amongst a bevy of hoots and hollers as he slapped a southern rock, jam band tilt against the bluesy country groove of “Almost Home” to immediately get hips popping in perfect rhythm as heads began to bob.

Leaning the pocket of familiarity against a glimpse of what’s next, he guided swampiness on “Kinda Sorta” and “Downbeat,” hit a 70’s induced flow on “10 Feet of Regret” and “America’s Sweetheart,” and layered delta blues into his breakout song “North To Nashville,” each next turn allowing the confident warmth of his voice to hold the spotlight as the stellar musicianship of his backing band sat attractively in accompaniment, finding precise moments to shine their respective individuality.

Instantly grabbing the heart of the crowd with a cover of his dad’s “I’m Over You,” Hendersonville raised, outlaw country singer-songwriter Jesse Keith Whitley induced a crowd sing along as he opened his set in what foreshadowed the steady balance of originals and covers that would follow.

Pinpointing the brand of country music that would absolutely hold the hometown crowd and keep them invested through several sing along moments, Whitley outlined the edges of his performance with covers of Clint Black’s “Killin’ Time,” Alan Jackson’s “Midnight in Montgomery,” and Bob Seger’s “Turn The Page.”

Expertly knowing his role as direct support, he also set the blue-collar tone of American Pride with original compositions “Try to Change My Ways” and “Red White And Blue,” receiving massive cheers when tipping his cap to the big man upstairs, our military veterans, and all of the first responders.  

But in an “Only in Nashville Hendersonville” moment, cell phones littered the air across the entire crowd to capture the tear inducing performance of “When You Say Nothing At All,” which saw Jesse dedicate the cornerstone song of his father’s legacy to his family, who were all on hand, while raising one up to a deafening ovation when he humbly said during its final notes, "God Bless Keith Whitley!"

“These are good people. I Love this town. I know so many people here so it will be like an actual party with friends,” said headliner Dillon Carmichael when we talked with him about playing a hometown show before he then smiled to say with a laugh, “We’re gonna show ‘em what we’re all about. Ya know, they might see me down at the Ace Hardware or at the gas station, but they’re gonna see a different side of me tonight.”

Kicking off his set with the 1-2 strike of “Beer Ain’t Gonna Drink Itself” and “Paychecks and Longnecks,” Carmichael connected with his hometown neighbors, raising up blue collar anthems that pulled them into the set while perfectly holding the Friday night, party atmosphere in a blend of southern rock influences and 90’s country essence.

Traveling snapshots of his entire catalog, he hit a stride in the songs geared toward the good ol’ boys and a nostalgic way of down-home living, solidifying his place as one of their own by setting an overall tone that reminded us that life is good, to appreciate what we have, and to live each moment to the fullest.

Slapping a two-steppin’ vibe with “Country Women,” “Country Boy Lovin’,” and “Gonna Wish You Did” helped to ignite several line dances in front of stage, while the softer tones of “Dancin’ Away With My Heart,” “I Do For You,” and “Old Songs Like That” (by audience request) brought the couples closely into one another for a head on the shoulder slow dance moment.

Confirming when we chatted with him that a new album is readied and due out in the spring of next year (2025), Dillon offered previews of what we can expect with “Raised Up Wrong” and “Good Ol’ Day,” adding fresh flavors to a catalog steeped richly toward the working class, the country boys like him who wear their American Pride and down-home morals on their sleeve.

“I think a lot of people have drinking problems but not “drinking problems,” just problems that make them want to go and drink a cold beer while listening to some good country music,” he shared with us as to why he felt that his hit song “Drinkin’ Problems” had resonated so much with the fans so quickly; upholding his notion when it immediately connected with the crowd as they raised a cold one and screamed along with the lyrics to create a harmony laced, sing along atmosphere.

Likewise, a similar feeling arose through the nostalgic drip of songs such as “Hose Water,” “Son Of A…” and “Red, White, Camo And Blue,” providing nods to the old fashioned morals and values that seem lost on too many these days, but not on this crowd (or on Dillon) as each next line was met with supportive ovations.

Closing out his set with a 1-2 punch that reigned similarly to how he kicked his night off, the honky-tonked vibes of “Pickin’ Up Girls” and his memorable, breakout hit “Hot Beer” stamped the late-night party crowd with one final sing along dance party that acted as the perfect segue into the official after party.

With the final notes of the Hendersonville Hometown Jam having now been played and all eyes firmly set on the next day’s BBQ competition, what’s never lost amongst the swirl of good times and great eats is the heartbeat of Pig Fest.

“If you have any kind of platform at all, you should use it to do good. We want to dedicate our time and energy into doing good things with the wonderful blessings that we’ve had so it’s a no brainer to do something like this,” Dillon told us about playing shows that hold a much bigger, deeper meaning than the surface reveals. 

Pig Fest is not only one heck of a good time that does everything right to make this a must-attend event, but it also humbly supports several local charities and non-profits; Christmas4Kids, Grace Place, Live.Love.Nashville, and Mary’s Magical Place.

For more information on Pig Fest, these amazing charities and how you can get involved, and up-to-date information on next year’s event, please visit their official website at: https://pigfesttn.com/