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NORFOLK — The Patriotic Festival is back this weekend with good ol’ country-fried tunes, activities for the kids and a healthy, near overdose, of patriotism.
The country music festival at Scope is all about supporting military service members Memorial Day weekend.
Headlining artists include Walker Hayes on Friday, Sam Hunt on Saturday and Cody Johnson on Sunday.
Hayes skyrocketed into national fame with the release of his decidedly catchy 2021 song “Fancy Like,” about date nights at Applebee’s, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Top 100. He scored a follow-up hit the next year with his humorous “AA.”
In 2015, Hunt’s debut album “Montevallo” climbed to No. 3 on the Billboard 200 producing four Top 40 singles: “House Party,” “Take Your Time,” “Leave the Night On” and “Break Up in a Small Town.” He was nominated for Best New Artist and Best Country Album at the 58th Grammy Awards in 2016.
Johnson won the 2022 Country Music Television Award for a live performance of his song “‘Til You Can’t.”
Friday, Hayes will be joined by Corey Kent and Cooper Alan. Musical guests Jordan Davis, Tracielynn and Drew Green will jam with Hunt on Saturday, and Johnson won’t be lonely Sunday as he’ll be joined by Randy Houser and Tyler Booth. DJ Ty Street will perform each night.
Singer and songwriter Jay Allen, a 2022 contestant on NBC’s “The Voice,” will give a free show at 4 p.m. Saturday on Scope Plaza.
Although he’s been playing music for years, Allen said in an interview that until recently he had always viewed himself “more as a philanthropist than as an artist.” He began advocating and raising money for the Alzheimer’s Association after his mother died from the disease.
He’s known for his 2018 tribute song, “Blank Stares,” which he dedicated to his mother and went viral with over 500 million Facebook viewers. But, his style has been evolving.
He and his band are gearing up to release an album that’ll feature much more pep and up-tempo tunes that’ll feel removed from the woeful ballad that brought him fame.
“The first one — believe it or not — it’s coming out June 16 and is called ‘Jell-O Shot.’ Right?” he said, laughing a bit. “It was a really silly idea of mine.”
The “Jell-O Shot” music video that was filmed this month required 5,000 Jell-O shots on set, so Allen said, festival goers should get ready for a sound that they’ve never heard from him before.
This is the second year that the festival has been held in Norfolk. After a 15-year run at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, the Patriotic Festival had its final outdoor showing in 2019.
The festival made the move to Scope to mitigate risks of weather delays or a complete weekend cancellation.
Last year, the Patriotic Festival reopened after a two-year hiatus and generated a $9 million economic impact on the city, according to its president, Ira Agricola.
Weekend Scoop
There will be a free “tailgating area” — without actual vehicles — on Scope Plaza from 3 to 6 p.m. each day, featuring food and beverage vendors, and, on the hour, personnel from Naval Station Norfolk showing off the skills of military dogs from 3 to 5 p.m.
Colin Warren-Hicks, 919-818-8139, colin.warrenhicks@virginiamedia.com
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If you go
When: 6 p.m. May 26 through 28
Where: Scope Arena, 201 E Brambleton Ave., Norfolk
Tickets: Start at $25
Details: patrioticfestival.com