Concert acts wow festival crowds

By SCOTT POWELLLedger Staff Writerspowell@gaffneyledger.com

Country music artist Julie Roberts signs an autograph for a fan shortly after her performance Friday evening at the South Carolina Peach Festival. The Four Tops brought their own brand of Motown magic Saturday to the Peach Beach party thrown by the South Carolina Peach Festival.

The Four Tops took the crowd of 7,000 people back to the Golden Age of Motown, performing a 75-minute set packed with hits from their 50-year career. The legendary vocal group opened its Las Vegas style show with “Baby I Need Your Loving” and ended the concert with “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch.)”

Abdul “Duke” Fakir, an original member of The Four Tops, dances to the music Saturday evening while performing at the South Carolina Peach Festival’s Peach Beach concert. Ledger photos by SCOTT POWELL Backed by a 13-member orchestra, The Four Tops performed hits such as “Reach Out, I’ll Be There,” “Standing In the Shadows of Love,” “Bernadette” and “Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I Got).” The group dedicated its show in memory of founding members Lawrence Payton and Renaldo “Obie” Benson, who passed away two weeks ago.

Theo Peoples and Ronnie McNeir, who replaced two of the original Four Tops in 1999, sang lead on many of the hit songs. Original member Abdul “Duke” Fakir served as the emcee while contributing his vocal talents to the Four Tops’ trademark harmonies.

The Four Tops drew one of the largest Peach Beach crowds in festival history, South Carolina Peach Festival Board Chairman Dennis Fowler said. The large crowd continued a trend for The Four Tops, who played a sold-out concert in Washington, D.C., on Friday evening before traveling to the Peach Festival.

The Four Tops gave the South Carolina Peach Festival audience high marks after the show.

“The Four Tops told me they had a lot of fun at the show and would love to come back anytime,” Fowler said. “The Four Tops were full of energy and didn’t stop from the moment they hit the stage until the concert ended.” The Four Tops drew a diverse crowd to their performance. There was a Hawaii license plate among the cars at the festival’s Orchard Park site.

The weekend got off to a strong start Friday evening with a country music concert by Julie Roberts and Jimmy Wayne. An estimated crowd of 4,000 people saw the rising country stars make a homecoming to the Carolinas.

Roberts, a Lancaster native, has been nominated for the Country Music Association’s Top New Artist award. She performed songs from her debut album including “Break Down Here,” “Rain on a Tin Roof” and “Wake Up Older.”

Wayne, who has roots in Kings Mountain, N.C., visited the Cherokee Children’s Home on Friday morning prior to headlining the festival’s country music concert. He performed songs from his debut album including the hits “Stay Gone,” “I Love You This Much” and “You Are.”

Both Roberts and Wayne signed autographs for fans after their performances.

“Jimmy Wayne and Julie Roberts were very personable and put on a great show,” Fowler said. “Jimmy Wayne was very moved by his visit to the Cherokee Children’s Home. He told me the visit was worth the trip.”

The country music concert was followed by a full Saturday of activities. Following the parade, several thousand people attended the SunCom Family Day from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

The festival’s concert series ended Sunday evening with the second annual Peach Praise concert.

Big Daddy Weave, Warren Barfield and By The Tree led the crowd in a worship service and contemporary Christian concert.