To call Ray Scott a newcomer to country music isn't quite accurate.
Although his debut CD, My Kind of Music, hasn't yet been released and the title track from the recording debuted Saturday at No. 58 on Billboard magazine's country music chart, the 35-year-old has been around songs and songwriting for a long time. He played in his first band when he was 19.
"I had someone give me some advice to have a 10-year plan," said Mr. Scott, who will perform at 8 p.m. Monday at North Augusta's Rest Fest Labor Day celebration at Riverview Park. "I've worked to really make a name for myself as a songwriter."
Randy Travis recorded his song Pray for the Fish on his 2002 CD Rise and Shine, and Mr. Scott's A Few Questions was the title track for a 2003 CD for Clay Aiken.
Having successes as a songwriter spurred on Mr. Scott until he landed a recording contract with Warner Bros. in Nashville, Tenn. Mr. Scott's style of country music is reminiscent of the artists he grew up listening to in North Carolina.
"I do want to hold up the greats. I don't want to see it get away," said Mr. Scott, whose deep, resonating voice has been compared to country greats Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings. "I get that a lot. It's the greatest compliment."
Because he has focused on songwriting, Mr. Scott said, he's got plenty of material for additional CDs, though he plans to spend the next year or so promoting My Kind of Music.
"I'm not bent on a new recording," he said.
Rest Fest will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Monday. Other entertainment will be provided by Joey Bridwell, Lyka Champ and Shiloh. There will be children's rides and games. North Augusta Department of Public Safety will provide a ladder truck for a spray-down, according to festival Chairwoman Deloris Bodie.
The annual event draws several thousand when the weather is good, she said. Hurricane Frances forced a cancellation of last year's event.
Other Labor Day-related events include a Labor Day Luau and First Friday Car Show at Augusta Common from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday.
Columbia County will celebrate Labor Day with a fireworks show at Wildwood Park off Washington Road. Admission is $2 a car. Call 868-3484.
The 2005 Crunk Fest will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Augusta Exchange Club Fairgrounds on Hale Street. Gates will open at 5 p.m.
Labor Day is a big day for Taliaferro County, Ga., residents, with the 19th annual Labor Day Fair expected to draw 3,000 to 4,000 people to downtown Crawfordville, according to Divenski Lee, who serves on the fair committee. Festival hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday. Organizers will pay tribute to veterans at 1 p.m., followed by a parade at 2 p.m. Fort Gordon's Signal Corps Band will play. Taliaferro County Historical Society will screen movies that were filmed in the county (Sweet Home Alabama and Coward of the County were filmed there.)
Crawfordville is about six miles north of Interstate 20 exit 154. For more information, call Divenski Lee at (706) 456-2229.
What: Rest Fest
Where: Riverside Park, North Augustahours: 3-9 p.m. Monday
What's there: Performers Ray Scott, Joey Bridwell, Lyka Champ and Shiloh; children's rides and games
What: Labor Day Luauwhere: Augusta Common, 800 block between Broad and Reynolds streets
When: 6-10 p.m. Friday
What's there: Car show, entertainment food; regular First Friday festivities downtown
What: Labor Day Fair
Where: Crawfordville, Ga.
When: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday
What's there: Parade, entertainment, movies
What: Fireworkswhere: Wildwood Park, off Washington Road
When: Monday, beginning at dusk
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012 Morris Communications, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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