Pumpkin spice, cool temps and … country music? Yes, indeed!
Fall favorites and tantalizing tunes unite in Fayetteville, home to Southeastern North Carolina’s biggest country music showcase. Presented by John Hiester Chrysler Dodge Jeep and John Hiester Chevrolet, the WKML Stars & Guitars Concert comes to the Crown Coliseum for the 12th year on Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m. Featuring a mixture of hitmakers and newcomers to the country music stage, the popular promotion stages five artists in a unique, acoustic setting.
Fans will enjoy a spectacular night of great music, engaging live entertainment, a few surprises and the opportunity to support a good cause. A portion of the ticket proceeds benefits St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Here's the lineup for this year’s SOLD-OUT show:
• LOCASH
• Zach Top
• George Birge
• Kameron Marlowe
• Tigirlily Gold
If you can’t pick just one favorite, the good news is you don’t have to! Compliments of The Big 95.7 ‘KML, Today’s Country, and Stars & Guitars’ generous sponsors, Fayetteville gets them all!
Chart toppers, record makers, social media sensations and no strangers to country music fans, these artists have and are making names for themselves across radio and other platforms.
As no one performer headlines, opens or closes the Stars & Guitars show—all the artists are on stage simultaneously and perform individually in rounds—concertgoers experience a true cross-section of talent. The artists sing songs, share stories, tell jokes and wow audiences year after year. The show’s “Unplugged, Unscripted and Unforgettable” tagline best describes the scene.
Beasley Media Group Digital Programming Director and Marketing and Promotions Director Brandon Plotnick explained the “why” behind the WKML Stars & Guitars event.
“The idea here is to celebrate country music with our listeners and market audience. We have a unique position in the industry, and we can put together something with a relatively big-name lineup every year. The affordable show is the biggest country show in our market,” he said.
The concert is also part of the station’s mission to assist St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This is the 38th year WKML and the Beasley Fayetteville team have proudly supported St. Jude's families and children.
This November’s Stars & Guitars concert and the December St. Jude Country Cares, the longest continuous radiothon campaign in the country, are among several ways the company supports this cause.
The station’s listening audience, covering Raleigh to Myrtle Beach and concentrated in Cumberland and Robeson counties, has filled the house for Stars & Guitars for 12 straight years, and this year will be no exception. During the Aug. 30 early pre-sale, available to members of the WKML free All-Access Club, the limited number of tickets sold out in three minutes.
The in-person regular ticket buyers—another sold-out situation—celebrated at the WKML’s Parking Lot Party at the Crown. These sellouts have not prevented fans from winning tickets in several other ways, including Ticket Stop opportunities and online and on-air contests—with chances still remaining.
Three Ticket Stops—chances for YOU to win tickets—remain before the Nov. 11 concert: Nov. 7 at the Holly Day Fair, hosted at the Crown Expo Center, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Nov. 8 at Timely Treasures, 1003 Honeycutt Rd., from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; and Nov. 9 at John Hiester Chrysler Dodge Jeep of Lillington, 940 N. Main St., Lillington, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Get all the details, including info on the Grand Prize VIP Experience, featuring front-row tickets, VIP pre-show passes and an autographed poster, at https://wkml.com/listicle/2024-stars-guitars-ticket-stop-calendar/.
Named “country music’s iconic feel-good duo” by PEOPLE, LOCASH, Preston Brust and Chris Lucas, levels big-hit sounds reminiscent of tunes from the 2000s.
Pumping up the crowds with Florida Georgia Line kind of energy, LOCASH has a pop-country feel that gets audiences singing and shouting for more. The circa 2015 band has eight charting singles, two successful albums, nearly 800 million global streams and a history of industry award recognitions. Announcing their 2024 partnership with 44 Farms, LOCASH recently supported Kane Brown’s DRUNK OR DREAMING TOUR.
Stars & Guitars attendees are likely to hear the duo’s smash hits, “I Love This Life,” “One Big Country Song” and “I Know Somebody,” along with other big-name collaborations.
The classic country sounds of Zach Top channels 90s nostalgia that wins with the WKML audience, according to Plotnick. Top released his first radio single, “Sounds Like the Radio,” at the top of 2024 via Leo33; he will join CMA Entertainer of the Year, Lainey Wilson, on her “Country’s Cool Again” Tour throughout the year following the release of his debut record, Cold Beer & Country Music. The Sunnyside, WA, native grew up ranching, tending to livestock and playing bluegrass music—the backstory to his love for country music today.
A TikTok sensation after the posting of “Beer Beer, Truck Truck,” George Birge is an original songwriter with two records currently on the radio: the chart-topping “Mind on You” and “Cowboy Songs.” Country artist Clay Walker and country rapper Colt Ford, among many others, have recorded Birge’s songs, and Walker even released Birge's co-write “Need a Bar Sometimes” as his new single.
“George Birge has a modern, gritty country feel to his music and is particularly appealing to the 20-something young female audience,” Plotnick said. “He has a Morgan Wallen kind of vibe.”
Kannapolis, North Carolina, native Kameron Marlowe, who formerly rocked Fayetteville’s Dogwood Festival, is happy to return to the city to play Stars & Guitars. Described by Plotnick as an “earthy, sort of alt-country artist with tension and meat behind his music,” Marlowe’s biggest hit, the Platinum-certified single “Giving You Up,” earned over 57 million views on YouTube. He’s also had hits with “Girl on Fire” and this year with Ella Langley on the song “Strangers.” The rising star from Season 15 of The Voice, who grew up singing in church, is currently touring alongside some of country music’s biggest stars. Marlowe is considered one of Nashville’s most exciting emerging voices and songwriters.
The duo Tigirlily Gold—North Dakota sisters Kendra and Krista Slaubaugh—have played music together practically since birth. They officially formed their band in high school and toured the mid-west, selling out amphitheaters across their home state of North Dakota.
Nashville was their next residence, where they earned a weekly spot at Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row on Nashville’s famous lower Broadway. The emotional pop country sounds of Tigirlily Gold propelled the band onto the country scene, where their debut single, “Shoot Tequila,” reached the Top 40 and went viral.
The duo’s hit single, “I Tried A Ring On,” released earlier this year, is currently finding huge airway success. Tigirlily has already debuted on the Grand Ole Opry and the TODAY Show, so why shouldn’t Fayetteville be next?
The 2024 WKML Stars & Guitars concert is a can’t miss! Tap into all your chances to win by tuning into The Big 95.7 and visiting https://wkml.com/.

(Graphics courtesy of Beasley Media Group)