Country singer/songwriter John King is set to perform at 4:45 p.m. before the Freedom Reins Pro Rodeo action begins Saturday night at 7 p.m.. Raised in the Appalachian foothills of northern Georgia, John King listened to a wide range of musicians —southern rockers like Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Black Crowes, classic craftsmen like James Taylor and Johnny Cash, and ’90s country stars like Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson — and worked construction jobs as a teenager. When he wasn’t pouring rocks at the worksite or studying in the classroom, he was usually at home, writing lyrics into his spiral-bound notebook and strumming his newly-written songs on an acoustic guitar. By 16 years old, he was writing multiple songs every week, often auditioning them for his friends around the campfire.

King’s steady climb toward the top of the country music mainstream has been full of milestones. He’s become a Number 1 songwriter, penning Randy Houser’s chart-topping “We Went” (which earned him a 2016 ASCAP Songwriter Award) and writing Hootie and The Blowfish’s “Rollin” (the band’s first song to be released since 2005). He’s become a road warrior, too, playing an average of 150 shows annually while building his audience one gig at a time. Most importantly, King has begun telling his own story through music, launching his solo career with “Tonight Tonight” — a Top 40 hit whose anthemic chorus was heard everywhere from country radio to the weekly NFL recaps on CBS — and releasing his first full-length album with 2021’s Always Gonna Be You.

Come for the concert, stay for the rodeo!