Award-winning singer/songwriter Aaron Carter has always been a fan of small towns and lakes having grown up in Rockwood, Tenn.  It seems only fitting that Bobby Carroll (a small-town boy himself) wanted to bring him back to Jefferson City to share the country artist’s music with the Cherokee Lake and Mossy Creek Cove community.  This free event will take place on Sunday, September 3, from 8-10pm off Point One in Mossy Creek Cove (817 Lakewood Drive).  Best way to hear Carter this Labor Day weekend is to just bring your boat to the cove during the early evening or simply pull up a chair on the shoreline.

Carroll shared that he met Carter through his father, Mark, a coworker of his whom he took (along with his son) camping and fishing on Cherokee Lake with his own kids (Bo and Tressa).  When Carter’s father remarked he would like his son to learn to ride tubes and jet ski, Carroll invited them back the next weekend. He shared, “I think I scared Aaron to death, but I think his screaming really helped him as a future artist.”  Carter confirmed that Carroll took him out on the jet ski, jumped it and buried it in the water causing both to jump out.  Carroll chuckled and stated, “I think I’m responsible for his lungs.”  A much younger Carter then let him know after the jet ski incident that he would never come back again, but reconnected with Bobby when his wife was at Carson Newman University.  Later down the road, he sent a Facebook message to Bobby asking if he liked country music and began sharing his songs, starting with “Hit Rewind.”  That’s when the true friendship began.

Carter, whose music has been compared to Morgan Wallen, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs and many more country artists, recently took home the Male Emerging Artist Award at the International Singer Songwriter Association award ceremony and just received an invitation to the Grand Ole Opry’s Josie Music Awards as well.  As he told the Roane County News (Carter’s hometown newspaper), “We’re going to the Grand Ole Opry on October 22.  I don’t know what I’m nominated for. I just got a letter saying I was in the top 2% of around 60,000 artists or something like that.”  When asked about going to the Grand Ole Opry, he said that he planned to get there early and get a photo made on the stage that has been shared by many country music greats.  It will be Carter’s first time at the Grand Ole Opry and certainly not his last based on his unique storytelling and singing style.

When asked about his favorite song, he hesitated, and Carter said there were two that equally meant a lot to him.  The first one was “This Town” (which was released and picked up in March 2022).  Carter said it meant a lot to him personally having grown up in Rockwood.  He said it really spoke to the things he experienced in the small town and added, “The little things in life mean so much.”  The second song, which also had true personal meaning, is “My Friend.”  The song tells the story of having a relationship with alcohol (his friend being the bottle).  During his senior year of high school, Carter shared he suffered a personal loss of his best friend and cousin and turned to alcohol to deal with his grief.  The song does end on a positive, personal note when his “friend “turns from the bottle to Jesus.

When asked about his songwriting process, Carter said that he (and his fellow singer songwriters like Jeremy Neely) really enjoy writing music together.  “One of us will get the writing bug and write a word or phrase down, record a melody on a voice memo and then share it later,” he stated.  He said that when you get a couple of writers together, the ideas come together and sometimes the song begins to flow.  The song may take 10 minutes, 45 minutes or longer to finish.  “Sometimes we as songwriters just have to set a song aside when we get stuck and come back to it in a month to finish,” Carter admitted.    

Carter has been sharing his award-winning music at various events, festivals, and concerts here in East Tennessee.  He plans to release his first album titled This Town in January.  The album will be compiled of some of his top streamed songs as well as some new songs.  He also is working with a fellow musician on the Live Sessions, which will feature audio and acoustic songs that he has written.

From songs like “This Town,” “Homegrown Country,” “Smalltown Queen,” “My Friend” and “Toss Me a Beer,” there’s a little something for everyone.  For more information about Aaron Carter, upcoming events and to sample his music, please visit https://aaroncartermusic.com or his official Facebook page https://facebook.com/OfficialAaronCarter.  For more information about the free, upcoming Jefferson City event on September 3, please contact Mossy Creek Music (Bobby Carroll) at 865.755.7568.  Carroll added that he can’t wait to share Carter’s music with the entire Cherokee Lake and Lakeway community.