Carly Pearce is celebrating America’s 250th birthday. On the Fourth of July, the country singer headlined Pigeon Forge’s Patriot Festival, and delivered a patriotic moment during her set.
Pearce opted to sing the national anthem while on stage as a nod the holiday. According to a concertgoer, who shared a video of the performance on X, “the entire crowd stood and sang along” during the special moment.
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The location of the performance is a meaningful one to Pearce, as the singer worked as a performer at nearby Dollywood during her teen years.
“It was a wonderful experience and one that anytime I think about it or get to come back it’s always such a fond memory for me,” Pearce told Knox News. “I don’t get to play in that area very often. So, it is always very, very sweet and a very full-circle moment when I get to come back there.”
Carly Pearce Talks Her Pigeon Forge Return
As for why she wanted to return to the area for the Fourth of July specifically, Pearce said, “it is such a milestone in our country, and I think all of us country musicians are very proud anytime we get to show our patriotism at a show.”
“There are certain moments where again, the full-circle thing comes into play. And I just thought it would be really fun to get to come back,” she said. “And I haven’t played my own show, I think, ever in Pigeon Forge. So, I’m excited to get to come back.”
Pearce wasn’t the only musician to take the stage during the festival. Craig Morgan headlined night one of the patriotic event.
“Craig and I both also worked at Country Tonite [Theatre in Pigeon Forge] as we were starting, and I think I can speak for Craig as well,” Pearce said. “There are very few places in your life where you can go back and think of how far you’ve come.”
“I hope that Pigeon Forge knows that we’re both very proud that we had a small stint as performers over there and are appreciative to probably all of the people that will be coming to the shows that saw us back then,” she added. “For me, I never will forget where I came from and I’ll never forget how special Pigeon Forge was to me.”
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