A Summer of Magic & Music at Carowinds
As frequent Carowinds visitors, there’s one thing that we’ve discovered after visiting the park year after year – and it’s this: Carowinds traditionally has some of the best live entertainment offerings of any regional park in North America. From talented musicians to full stage productions, the live entertainment team at Carowinds consistently creates a summer full of entertainment that provides the perfect break from the coasters and thrill rides found on both sides of the state line. The summer of 2024 is no exception, as not only has Carowinds announced a 2024 Summer Music festival with 10 headlining artists that begins in July, but also has added two highly talented musical acts around the park and return a world-renowned illusionist for a summer full of Magic and Music at the place where the Carolinas come together.
During a recent visit to the park, we had the chance to check out the park’s two new musical acts – Homegrown and The Yacht Rockers, as well as a preview of the magical stylings of Brad Ross, who returns to Carowinds for a second consecutive season before heading into Carowinds’ iconic Palladium to learn a few more details about the Carowinds Summer Music Fest from Ryan Allen, Carowinds’ Director of Live Entertainment.
HomeGrown
The first show we had the opportunity to Experience was “HomeGrown,” an acoustic duo who perform on the Crossroads Gazebo several times a day, six days a week (no shows on Tuesdays!). According to Carowinds, guests can “enjoy an upbeat live performance by the talented Carolina duo, HomeGrown. This dynamic duo plays classic acoustic country, favorite bluegrass songs, and more – all guaranteed to transport your heart and soul to the open road with the convertible’s top down.”
The talented musicians play a combination of piano and guitar, combined with impressive vocals. The mix of music featured the aforementioned acoustic country, but also featured songs including “Why’s Georgia” by John Mayer, “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse, and “Cant Stop The Feeling” by Justin Timberlake.
While our experience was cut short due to a high heat index, we managed to catch a few songs from “HomeGrown,” and felt that the intimate gazebo setting, surrounded by the shade trees around “Boo Blasters,” actually really matched the vibe of the overall show. We hope to get back to Carowinds to see the full show later this season!
Take a listen to “Homegrown” perform “Valerie” below!
The Yacht Rockers
Performing atop a shipping container bar in the Carolina Boardwalk, the Yacht Rockers were our next show to experience. Given the Carolinas’ affinity for Beach Music, the Yacht Rockers might be my new favorite fun-in-the-sun band. With a mix of current hits and golden oldies you know by heart, The Yacht Rockers are the perfect combination of live entertainment and easy-breezy family fun, according to Carowinds.
The gifted four-piece Yacht Rockers – a guitar, bassist, drummer, and keys – true to their description, played a little bit of everything, including the iconic “Take on Me” by a-ha, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” by Whitney Houston, and even adapted the lyrics of “Don’t Go Breakin’ My Heart” to “Don’t Go Sinking My Yacht.” In all, it was a very fun, toe-tapping performance – as evidenced by the show’s audio technician, who despite probably seeing this show dozens of times at this point, was still bobbing his head and tapping his feet along with the Yacht Rockers.)
In our experience, this is one of the first musical acts we recall taking up a residency in Carolina Boardwalk, and utilizes a rarely-used corner of that area of the park. Flanked by Adirondack chairs and picnic tables (and the occasional train of Carolina Cyclone going through the first loop in the background!) – this is an area I’d love to see more musical acts utilize in Carowinds.
The Yacht Rockers “Wanted to Dance With Somebody” – so we hope you’ll watch below!
Illusionist Brad Ross
To celebrate the park’s 50th anniversary in 2023, Carowinds brought in illusionist Brad Ross to pay homage to the park’s first ever act in the Carowinds Theater in 1973 – a magician. In 2024, Ross returns to Carowinds this summer with a fun-filled magic show that will leave park guests thinking “how did he do that?” more than they probably want to admit.
During the 40-minute show, the talented Ross demonstrates multiple illusions and talks about his lifelong interest in magic, and even involves the audience at multiple points throughout the performance. There’s sleight of hand, levitation, and even the classic magician tropes of sawing women in half. Worth noting, if you visited Carowinds during 2023 and saw his performance, there are several new tricks in this year’s show, including an illusion that Ross first performed at Six Flags Great Adventure 20 years ago during his first year as a theme park magician.
Brad Ross has three shows (3:00, 5:00, 7:00pm) a day on Sundays, Mondays, Thursday and Fridays, and on Saturdays, the park adds a 1:00pm performance. (As an added perk, the Carowinds theater is consistently much cooler than the outdoor temperatures thanks to a pumping air conditioner – Brad Ross is the perfect way to beat the heat.)
Carowinds Summer Music Fest
The final stop of our entertainment journey at Carowinds was a tour of the Paladium Amphitheater, which will play host to the headlining acts of the Summer Music Fest. The 13,000-seat amphitheater, which first opened in 1975, doesn’t host concerts with the frequency that it once did, but the Carowinds team is excited for music to return to the park this summer. The best news of all, all of the concerts are INCLUDED WITH PARK ADMISSION.
The park is in the process of making the venue “show ready,” which includes the “refresh” of former outlying concert buildings, including merchandise, food & beverage facilities, and restrooms. Carowinds noted that the food menus for the concert series will be fairly limited – pretzels, popcorn, hot dogs, loaded fries, and barbecue sandwiches among the offerings – but there will be “plenty of beer” – including in a beer garden that is being built out on the perimeter of the Paladium.
Seating for the Music Fest Concerts in the Paladium will be divided into three groups – the first group of seats closest to the stage will require wristbands that will be available beginning at park open on the day of the concerts. There are no assigned seats with the wristbands, they just gain you access to the section and seating is first-come, first-served. The other two sections do not require wristbands and are first-come, first-served.
As of this writing, the plan for most Summer Music Fest concerts will be for Paladium gates to open at 5:00pm, with the opening act performing for about 45 minutes beginning at 7:00pm, followed by the headliner with a 90-minute set at 8:30pm. (Head to Carowinds’ website for more specific schedule and ticketing procedures!)
Carowinds Summer Music Fest Schedule:
July 5: LeAnn Rimes (Opener: Johnnyswim)
July 6: Bret Michaels Part-Gras Tour 2024 (feat. Dee Snider, Steve Augeri, Great White & Slaughter)
July 19: Carly Pearce (Opener: Niko Moon & Hannah Ellis)
July 20: TobyMac (Opener: Tenth Avenue North)
July 26: Brett Young (Opener: Restless Road)
July 27: Brantley Gilbert (Opener: Lauren Alaina)
August 2: Skillet (Opener: 10 Years)
August 3: Sugar Ray (Opener: Better Than Ezra & Tonic)
August 9: Flo Rida (Opener: Blanco Brown)
August 10: Russell Dickerson (Opener: Tyler Rich)
Make sure to head to Carowinds’ website for the latest and greatest information about Summer Entertainment (including show schedules!) at the park, and make sure to follow Carowinds on Social Media: Facebook | Twitter/X | Instagram
