The South Carolina State Fair will close Thursday, Oct. 11, due to the expected local impacts of the approaching tropical system.

“We decided it was in the best interest of our patrons, employees, concessionaires and carnival staff not to open Thursday given the unpredictable nature of the storm,” said State Fair manager, Nancy Smith. “It’s unfortunate that we have to miss a day, but that’s the nature of our industry, and safety is always our first consideration. The good news is the storm is expected to pass through quickly, and we will resume full operations on Friday (Oct. 12).”

The Scotty McCreery concert originally planned for Thursday, Oct. 11 in the Pepsi Grandstand concert series has been moved to 7 p.m. Oct. 18. Patrons can use their Scotty McCreery tickets on the new date, and tickets remain on sale for the new date at scstatefair.org.

“We know how much fans were looking forward to this concert, and we appreciate Scotty McCreery’s management team being so flexible and working with us to get this show rescheduled,” Smith said. “We look forward to having him perform next week as we know so many others do.”

Smith said she cannot recall the fair ever closing a full day in her 35 years with the organization but noted it was a necessary decision given the potential serious nature of the storm. “This was an easy call because it was the right one for our community.”

The brief schedule interruption is expected to be followed by near perfect weather conditions.

As the tropical storm system passes through on Thursday, it is expected to be followed by a noticeable drop in temperatures. The weekend forecast calls for clear skies with high temperatures in the upper 70s with overnight lows in the mid-50s. The longer-range forecast has no rain expected through the end of next week.

“Once we get past this one day, it looks like we are in store for some ideal fair weather, so we hope everyone will stay safe and come experience all the fair has to offer in the days to come,” Smith said. “There is still a lot more fun to be had.”

The fair is operating on a full schedule today (Oct. 10), with mostly partly cloudy skies forecast through gate closing at 10 p.m. Admission is $1 for everyone at the gate.  The Tokyo Joe concert opens this year’s Pepsi-Grandstand concert series at 7 p.m. Admission to the concert is free with fair admission. Wristbands for the concert will be distributed at the Pepsi-Grandstand box office beginning at 5:30 p.m.

The South Carolina State Fair continues through Oct. 21 at Rosewood Drive and George Rogers Boulevard.

Have you seen the new video where Scotty reads tweets about the upcoming Seasons Change Tour that kicks off Nov. 29 in Dallas?  Check it out here!!

Celebrate the Beginning of the Christmas Season at Graceland with Two Star-Studded Events on November 15^th

Scotty McCreery and Marty Stuart to appear at Graceland’s Annual Holiday Lighting, Featuring a Special Live Musical Performance by McCreery

The World Premiere of Hallmark Channel’s “Christmas At Graceland” Movie will be held on the Graceland Soundstage Immediately Following

WHAT:   Holiday Lighting Ceremony at Elvis Presley’s Graceland and the World Premiere of Hallmark Channel’s “Christmas at Graceland”

WHO:     Country music stars Scotty McCreery and Marty Stuart and actors Eric Close and Wes Brown

WHEN:                  November 15

Lighting and Entertainment at 6:00 p.m. CST

Red Carpet and Performer Interviews at 6:30 p.m. CST

Movie Premiere at 7:00 p.m. CST

WHERE: Graceland Plaza Green and Elvis Presley’s Memphis Soundstage

Elvis Presley’s Graceland® will officially begin the holiday season when country music stars Scotty McCreery and Marty Stuart flip the switch on the traditional lights and decorations lighting up Elvis Presley’s iconic home. This time honored tradition will feature a special performance by McCreery, an appearance by Santa and a 100% chance of snow!

The extensive Christmas display at the king’s castle includes hundreds of blue lights along the driveway, a life-size Nativity scene, Santa and his sleigh, and much more, all originally displayed at Graceland by Elvis and the Presley family.

Immediately following, Hallmark Channel’s “Christmas At Graceland” will have its World Premiere on the Soundstage at Elvis Presley’s Memphis. This all-new holiday film, shot on location at Graceland, is filled with music made famous by Elvis, and stars 2018 Daytime Emmy® Award nominee Kellie Pickler (“Pickler & Ben”). Director Eric Close (“Nashville”) and star Wes Brown (“True Blood”) will attend both the Lighting Ceremony and the World Premiere to debut their new film.

In “Christmas At Graceland,” Laurel (Pickler), a Chicago-based business executive travels to Memphis to secure one of the city’s oldest family-owned banks. While in Memphis, Laurel reunites with an old flame Clay (Brown), a local music promoter with loftier aspirations. Though Laurel tries to keep her eye on the prize of the business acquisition, Clay is very persuasive reminding her of the days when they were a performing duo on the brink of stardom. Now Laurel’s focus turns to the home of the Blues and dreams of making music again. “Christmas At Graceland” is part of Hallmark Channel’s #1-rated program event, COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS. 

The Lighting Ceremony is free and open to the public. The Premiere is a by-invitation, ticketed event, however complimentary tickets will be made available that night at the door, based on availability. Reserved seats are also available to anyone who purchases tickets to any Graceland attraction on November 15 prior to November 2. For additional information visit www.graceland.com/christmas

Seasonal holiday tours of the interior of Graceland mansion, featuring the Presley family’s personal Christmas décor, will be offered through January 8.The holiday festivities continue with Graceland’s 2^nd Annual Holiday Concert Weekend December 14-15, 2018. Last year’s inaugural Concert Weekend was a runaway success, delighting both visitors and local Memphians alike, and this year’s event promises to be even more exciting! The weekend will feature three incredible live concerts on the Graceland Soundstage as well as various Christmas Tips, Tricks and Crafts seminars at The Guest House at Graceland hosted by Lifestyle Expert JJ Keras, who has been regularly featured on the Today Show and Good Morning America.

The concert on Friday, December 14, will feature Elvis’ biggest Christmas hits with a live orchestra led by renown UK conductor Robin Smith, featuring local Memphis musicians, vocalists, choirs and dancers. On Saturday, December 15, there will be two themed concerts on one night: an Elvis Gospel Christmas concert starring former members of JD Sumner and The Stamps Quartet and The Blackwood Brothers; and an Elvis Star-Studded Rock ‘n’ Roll show starring legendary guitarist James Burton of Elvis' TCB Band. The Guest House at Graceland™ hotel packages, ticket-only packages and individual tickets are now available. For more detailed information please visit Graceland.com/Holiday  or call 901.332.3322.

North Carolina-native Scotty McCreery wrote the song “Barefootin’” with David Lee Murphy and Frank Rogers as a tribute to the regional Beach Music he grew up listening to that is performed up and down the Southeast coast of the United States.  The song, which recently hit No. 1 on the Beach Music Top 40 Chart even though it has not been released as an official single has just been nominated forNational Dance/Shag Song of the Year at the 2018 Carolina Beach Music Awards. The song is a featured track on McCreery’s current album Seasons Change.

“This is incredible,” said a stunned McCreery. “We wrote the song as a fun tribute to one of my favorite genres of music. I never expected it to be recognized with a Carolina Beach Music Award nomination. I’m thrilled that people are really enjoying the song and thankful for the nomination.” 

The singer/songwriter is currently rising up the country music singles charts with his hit “This is It,” the second single from Seasons Change. The song, which McCreery wrote with Rogers and Aaron Eshuis, is currently at No. 29 on both the Mediabase/Country Aircheck Country Singles Chart and theBillboard Country Airplay Chart.  The music video for “This is It,” directed by Jeff Ray and filmed at McCreery’s wedding, has earned more than 13 million views in just over two months and has topped the GAC Top 20.

His previous hit, the Platinum-certified No. 1 song “Five More Minutes” which he co-wrote with Rogers and Monty Criswell, was recently voted “One of 2018’s Ten Songs I Wish I’d Written” by the professional membership of the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI).

The Carolina Beach Music Awards are held on Sunday, November 11, 2018 at the Alabama Theater in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. For more information, visit www.cammy.org.  

Scotty will perform as part of the “Nashville House Concerts” at War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville on October 4, 2018. The show, hosted by Storme Warren, also features performances from The Warren Brothers, The Shindellas, and legendary singer/songwriters Paul Overstreet and Even Stevens.  The Nashville House Concerts are a monthly event in Music City and Scotty is looking forward to being part of the October gathering. Get your tickets here:  https://bit.ly/2oO3Yyz

North Carolina-native Scotty McCreery has listened to the regional Beach Music of the Carolinas since he was a child. Now he’s made his own contribution to the genre as his song“Barefootin’” reaches the No. 1 position on the Beach Music Top 40 Chart this week.
 
The ACM, BMI and CMT Award winner wrote the song with David Lee Murphy and Frank Rogers last year. He told both writers when they sat down that day that he really wanted to create a Beach Music song in the shag dance style (one of Beach Music’s main dances) for his album Seasons Change. The song was produced by Rogers, Derek Wells, and Aaron Eshuis. 
 
“This is awesome news about ‘Barefootin’!’” said McCreery. “That is one of my favorite songs on Seasons Change. It reminds me of all the great times I’ve had at the beach through the years with friends and family. This song was not released as a single or promoted in any way, so this is a huge surprise. I’m so glad people have discovered the song and are digging it. Gabi and I have talked about taking classes to learn how to do The Shag correctly. Maybe we’ll actually do that now.”  
 
For McCreery, writing this song with one of his favorite artists was already a big accomplishment. “Getting to write with David Lee Murphy was a bucket list item for me. His ‘Dust on the Bottle’ is one of my favorite songs of all time, and he’s just a great guy. Frank and I introduced him to Beach Music that day and we had a blast.”
 
Always the romantic whether he’s singing about “some slow dancing and some romancing, shaggin’ in the sand” or “if there ever was a time for a perfect kiss, this is it,” McCreery continues to rise up the country music charts with his current single “This is It.” The song, which he co-wrote with Rogers and Eshuis two weeks before he proposed to his longtime girlfriend (now, wife) Gabi, is currently at No. 36 on the Mediabase/Country Aircheck chart. It is the follow up to his No. 1, Platinum-certified smash hit “Five More Minutes.” The music video for “This is It,” directed by Jeff Ray and filmed entirely at McCreery’s wedding, has already topped the “GAC Top 20 Playlist” and earned more than 8.6 million views in little over a month since its release.