Music is always a big part of the Gingerbread Festival, and this year there is an even greater emphasis on entertainment. As always, many local bands will perform on the Gingerbread stage during the three-day festival, but this year each night will also feature a headlining act from outside the region. For those not familiar with these performers, some brief descriptions follow; hopefullly these will encourage our readers to attend the festival and check out the music!
John King
Thursday night’s artist is John King, who will take the stage at 8 p.m. Drive, paired with raw talent and business savvy took this young man out of a little mountain town in Georgia and into the spotlight opening for award-winning artists, writing number 1 songs, and touring over 150 dates a year. King grew up working with his hands, building work ethic as he built structures.
“Those jobs made me who I am,” says John. “I started off working rock construction, putting in fireplaces, and walkways at about 14 or 15. It was tough, but it built character for sure.”
Citing his parents as the main reason he got into music, John credits them for their influence.
“They are the only reason why music was introduced at an early age.” John’s musical tastes were formed early on by the southern rock sounds of Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers Band, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and The Black Crowes. As country music took a huge leap forward in the 1990s, John found himself in awe of one of country music’s greatest entertainers, Garth Brooks.
When it comes to the fans, the bar is set high according to John.
“I love the way Garth treats his fans like royalty…I wanna be like that… If you’ve made a long career in country music it’s because your fans love you.” As King puts it, “Entertaining a crowd, meeting the fans, hearing their stories, seeing them have the time of their lives…that is what God put me here to do…that’s my passion.”
John took serious interest in guitar when he realized he could figure out how to play his favorite songs, but then went on to modify them. “That’s when I realized that I could write my own music. I started by playing familiar melodies and turning them into funny songs with lyrics about my friends.”
Once John settled into the position of lead singer, his voice began to change the sound of the band.
“Our early bands were rock bands but my voice was country. I grew up country, I talked country, and I wrote country songs.” After graduating high school, John decided to arm himself with a music degree and went to study at the University of Georgia. It was during his time at UGA that the formation of John’s musical footprint would really take shape. John’s music career was in full developmental swing during his time at Georgia. “My time at UGA helped me tremendously,” John said with a very serious tone. “It…
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