The Greater Williamston Business Association will hold their second Party in the Park music event this Friday beginning at 5:30 p.m. in Williamston’s Mineral Spring Park.
The event will feature a performance by North Carolina native and Nashville recording artist Benton Blount. According to one review, Benton Blount knows to trust his instincts. Repeatedly through his career, he’s moved forward by walking through an open door, even if making that step defied logic at the time.
“I’ve had to stop wondering why all my dreams seem to keep coming true and moving me forward,” Blount says. “I’ve learned to trust that singing and writing songs is what I’m supposed to do, because every time I focus on my music, new opportunities suddenly present themselves.”
Blount cites fate, and his faith, in guiding him along his path. But those who’ve heard his vividly passionate songwriting and his strong, soulful voice know why doors keep opening for him. It comes down to one word: Talent.
“The first time I tried to sing, I found I had this unusual voice that people liked,” says the native of Valdese, a small town in the North Carolina Mountains near the artistic hamlet of Asheville. “Then when I started songwriting, I realized I enjoyed figuring out how to express emotion through words and melodies. I’ve worked hard; you have to if you want to achieve anything good, but when I sing or write it seems like this is what I was put here to do.”
Blount didn’t grow up dreaming of music as his career. A star football player, he at first focused more on sports and body strength than on developing any artistic talents. But he picked up a bass guitar in order to play in a church band, because it looked like they were having fun. When the youth director, without warning, put a microphone in front of him and told him to sing, Blount discovered he had a deep, expressive voice no one had realized was inside him.
There will be activities for young children including three large inflatables and the park playground will be open. There will also be free face painting.
Local businesses will be offering food and the GWBA will have drinks. GWBA member businesses will also have display tables with information promoting their business.
For more information on the GWBA, visit their website at www.gwba.info.
