‘American Idol’s Caleb Kennedy, Laine Hardy Set to Play Greenville Country Music Festival
Craig Sjodin ABC/ Eric McCandless ABC Reading Time: 3 minutes
Season 17 American Idol winner Laine Hardy is performing at the Greenville Country Music Festival in South Carolina this year. Season 19’s Caleb Kennedy is also going to perform during the September 11 show. Country music superstar Sam Hunt is the biggest name added to the event roster so far.
Caleb Kennedy Joins Greenville Country Music Festival Lineup with Laine Hardy
The Greenville Country Music Festival will be full of dancing and have multiple stages set up around the event. Concert-goers can enjoy bull riding, ax throwing, food, and music from a growing list of artists. The lineup also includes Riley Green, Jon Langston, Chris Brandi, Jukebox Rehab, Warrick McZeke, Dirty Grass Soul, Conner Sweeny, Cody Webb, and DJ Slim McGraw.
Caleb left American Idol after making it to the Top 5 this season. A controversial Snapchat video from his past resurfaced online. In the video, Caleb sits next to someone who is wearing a white hood. Caleb announced his departure from the show on Instagram in May and took a short Instagram hiatus. He has since been playing local shows and is set to perform in North Carolina and South Carolina over the next few months.
“I can’t wait to be out at @gvlfest this September 11th sharing the stage with some of my country music idols,” Caleb wrote on Instagram. “My biggest show/festival to date. I hope I see every single one of you out there. I can promise it’s going to be a party.”
Season 19 American Idol winner Chayce Beckham wrote “proud of you” on the post. Caleb recently spoke out about feeling like he changed himself by competing on American Idol.
“On Idol, that wasn’t me,” he said in an interview. “That world is so different. Now that I’m home, I try to be me, but I’m also scared of someone videoing me when I go to Academy or Walmart. You have to worry about things like that now.”
Laine is Slowly Working His Way Up to Dominate the Country Music Scene
Laine, on the other hand, has been on the come up with his new music and tour plans this year. He released his single “Memorize You” in May, which he performed during an appearance on The Bachelorette. To celebrate this performance, he dropped an acoustic version of the song. He also released his song “Authentic” in late July.
Laine is touring across the U.S. until November. He performed at Whiskey Jam a few weeks ago and has been staying very active on social media. Laine is slated to make his debut performance at the Grand Ole Opry on August 28. He has a pretty busy schedule over the next few months, hoping to find the same success as some of the bigger names to come out of American Idol.
