Buried in the heart of central North Carolina, the Carri Smithey Band has been quietly creating ripples in the local country music scene for more than a decade. With their soulful root-driven sound, the band has been crafting a strong musical connection for the past 12 years.
The band consists of five members: lead singer Carri Smithey, guitarist Keith Ingalls, fiddle player Kate White, bassist Josh Coe and drummer Ryan Burgess.
Smithey named several country artists as her inspirations, such as Reba McEntire and Martina McBride.
But the one artist who has inspired her the most is Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Dolly Parton, known for her hit songs “9 to 5” and “Jolene,” among others.
“She’s my everything,” Smithey said. “I love, love, love her.”
Smithey said her favorite part of performing is sharing the stage with her bandmates and connecting to the crowd with every song.
“I love to sing and play with my bandmates,” Smithey said. “They’re like my brothers so we get mad with each other, pick on each other and vibe with each other.”
Burgess has been in the band since the beginning, and is considered the backbone for many of their songs. During the set at the plaza, Burgess sang lead vocals for several songs.
“I was in a few bands throughout high school,” Burgess said. “I joined them but I couldn’t sing so I chose to play the drums and not sing, but I changed my mind.”
Band members said they are ecstatic to be performing whenever they get the opportunity and want to continue their passion and have fun along the way.
“I hope that I’m still kickin’ it when I’m at my dad’s age,” Burgess said.
Several members of the audience had personal connections to the band and said they loved the concert and expressed their awe of the band’s talent, including Burgess’ mother, who shared her pride for her son.
“I know I’d be a bit biased but the band really works together,” she said.
Another audience member came out to support Smithey, her hairstylist and friend of 22 years.
“We go where they go,” she said.
Guests enjoyed meals from local establishments such as Pandora’s Pies and Smitty’s Homemade Ice Cream, which are favorites in the community.
“We wanted to bring locals to eat, drink, and enjoy the plaza,” said Sarah Bass, the town of Elon downtown development assistant. “We wanted to support local businesses with a free concert because when students leave after school is out, businesses can suffer, and this is a way to help that.”
Bass said she hopes audience members audiences enjoy their show, no matter how times they’ve seen the band perform live.
“Whether it’s their first time, or they come often, we want our audiences to have a good time and have fun while supporting local businesses,” Bass said.
Kordell Tate-Roberts
Kordell Tate-Roberts lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, and currently attends Church Farm School, a private college prep boarding school in Exton, Pennsylvania. His passion for journalism began in 2022, when he started his own school newspaper. Currently, Kordell is the leader of many clubs. He is the president and founder of Book Club, president of Yearbook, associate journalist for the Marketing and Communications office, co-president of GSA, a member of Student Government, and the head of the interview committee for the Griffin Review, the school’s student magazine. As a member of the CFS choir, Kordell had the opportunity to perform at Carnegie Hall in April. Next year, Kordell plans to continue his journalism career, student ambassadorship,and hopefully start a student-led newspaper team. He also plans to continue his love and passion for musical theater.
Chase Slesinger-Hall
Chase Slesinger-Hall lives in Aspen, Colorado, and is a rising senior at Aspen High School, where he is an IB diploma candidate. He is the opinion section editor of his school’s newspaper and has been an editor for the yearbook for the past two years, for which he enjoys writing stories that speak to him and his community. A participant in countless extracurriculars, among his favorites are Hope Squad and being a school ambassador, where he strives to ensure his school environment is positive for everyone around him. Other than school and extracurriculars, he can most often be found in the mountains – snowboarding fresh pow, hiking with friends, playing tennis or simply blaring music. Chase is always up for a good time with his friends, and he’s excited for his passions to take him to whatever comes next.
Andes Finch
Andes Finch is a rising senior and Jack Kent Cooke Young Scholar attending Paideia School in Atlanta. He lives near Stone Mountain Village, a place of historical and contemporary interest to him and the subject of his first documentary. He enjoys foreign news and conversation, and he’s skilled in language learning. In 2023, he traveled to Wolfsburg to improve his German. In 2024, through the National Security Language Initiative for Youth program, he lived with a host family in Latvia for six weeks to learn Russian, experiencing the grim realities of ethnic tension in a border region. He founded the Russian and Karaoke Clubs at Paideia and co-leads the Chess Club. He is considering majoring in journalism, photography or diplomacy.