Sharecroppers Will Headline Music Fest
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
The Sharecroppers – Steve McGregory, Daryl Burney, Clay Ashford (partially hidden) and Jessey Higdon – will return to the stage at The Civic on July 31.
WATER VALLEY – You can almost hear it already, can’t you? That familiar, foot-tapping, smile-inducing sound of The Sharecroppers—tuned up and ready to play as if no time has passed at all. And yet, it’s been seven long years since Daryl Burney, Jessey Higdon, Steve McGregory, and Clay Ashford last took the Music Fest stage. Seven years without those harmonies, those stories set to strings, and that special something only they can deliver.
But this year—oh, this year—everything changes.
The Sharecroppers are coming back.
They’ll take the stage at the Water Valley Town and Country Garden Club Music Fest with a pre-show at 6:30 p.m., followed by their regular performance at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 31. And if you’ve ever been to Music Fest before, you already know what I’m about to say: it just wouldn’t feel like Music Fest without them.
In fact, for many of us, Music Fest is The Sharecroppers.
There’s something about this group that speaks directly to the heart of Water Valley. Maybe it’s the way their music sounds like home. Maybe it’s the way they laugh on stage like three brothers who’ve shared one too many jokes and not quite enough sleep. Maybe it’s how they remind us of the beauty in ordinary things—of front porches and old guitars, of telling the truth with a little twang and a whole lot of soul.
And now, as the Water Valley Town and Country Garden Club proudly brings Music Fest back to The Civic—newly restored and ready for its spotlight moment—the timing couldn’t be more perfect.
It’s not just a concert. It’s a homecoming.
You see, The Civic has always been more than a building. For years, it was where Water Valley came to gather, to laugh, to cheer, to cry a little, and to feel proud. It stood silent for too long—its seats empty, its stage bare. But this year, the lights are shining once again, the sound is clear and full, and the opening event of the Watermelon Carnival weekend is right back where it belongs.
And who better to help us celebrate that than The Sharecroppers?
They’ve been with us through it all—from the early days of Music Fest when folks were still figuring out how to run the spotlights and fold the programs. They’ve played in front of crowds packed shoulder to shoulder, while the air-conditioning struggled in the summer heat. Through it all, they’ve shown up. And now, they’re doing it again.
There’s a special kind of magic that happens when something beloved returns. It feels like digging out a forgotten photo and remembering every single thing about the day it was taken. That’s what this night will be. Nostalgia and new beginnings, all rolled into one.
So if you’ve missed the Music Fest tradition…
If you’ve missed The Sharecroppers…
If you’ve missed that feeling—you know the one—when the first chord strikes and the room just knows it’s going to be a good night…
Then come on down to The Civic.
