County residents can start their engines and expect a festive ‘Music in the Park’ Friday night.
Brad Puckett will race into Covered Bridge Park Friday and headline the third night of musical performances for the Covered Bridge Celebration, with his set scheduled to start at 9 p.m.
Puckett’s song “Start Your Engines” is currently being used for NASCAR on NBC and the 2014 Nashville Independent Artist of the Year has been floating throughout the Billboard charts throughout his career.
Even with success coming at a national level, there’s nothing like being back in the area, according to Puckett.
“I’m really excited to be back for the Covered Bridge Celebration,” he said. “I’m from Kingsport and spent six years down in Nashville working on music. It’s always a great time performing during the Covered Bridge Celebration.”
It was a no-brainer in bringing back Puckett for the 50th anniversary of the event, according to Elizabeth White with the Elizabethton/Carter County Chamber of Commerce.
“Brad Puckett is coming back to play and we’re very excited to have him perform,” White said. “He was talking about how much pride he takes in playing at the Covered Bridge Celebration.”
Puckett is no stranger to the area, and credited support from Northeast Tennessee for the current route of his career.
“It’s been great working with WBEJ in town,” Puckett said. “We’re always bringing in music for them to play and we’ve got a good fan base in Elizabethton. The support from the community has been amazing.”
And being able to play during the special milestone for the Covered Bridge Celebration ranks up as a top moment, Puckett added.
“It truly is an honor,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it. The Covered Bridge Celebration keeps growing each year and there are a lot of people that put in the hard work to make it happen.”
The Tri-Cities native also had an opportunity to touch base with Saturday’s closing act for the ‘Music in the Park’ – Marty Raybon.
“Yesterday, I was walking through Nashville and actually caught up with Marty,” Puckett said with a laugh. “I talked with him and said I was playing the night before him, and he said that was cool. It was great catching up with a legend of music like him.”
Puckett added that attendees Friday can expect a high octane show.
“If you’ve seen a Jason Aldean show, that’s what you can expect,” he said. “There’s a lot of excitement, we keep it family friendly and we just want everyone to have a good time. We’ve received a lot of radio support from the county and we’re expecting a good crowd out.”
Fans of Puckett have an opportunity for a meet-and-greet starting at 8 p.m.
“I’ll be out an hour before I go on stage,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to talking with everyone before playing Friday night.”
Joining the Puckett will be three different acts to open the evening. The Thursday Night Boys will perform from 5 to 5:30 p.m., Jeff Sharpe & Friends will play 6 to 7 p.m. and Grant Meredith opens for Puckett, taking the stage from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Music for Friday is sponsored by Dr. Enuf.