Singing south of the border
Annapolis Valley youth’s next stop is at Pictou Lobster Carnival
Patrons at a bluegrass music venue in Nashville, Tenn., rang the bell in appreciation of Carson Fullerton's musical prowess.
“It means when you get a lot of clapping,” Carson explained, noting it was “awesome” to hear the fans' appreciation.
The six-year-old Weston, Kings County, native took part in a jam session at the Station Inn during a vacation with his parents Kerri and Stephen and older brother Brody.
“They loved him and invited him to come back,” Kerri said.
The family arrived at the venue and ordered some pizza. After a few bites and a drink of root beer, Carson was ready to perform. He quickly made friends with a tall man wearing overhauls and Crocs that was playing the banjo.
“Every time he wanted to play a song, Carson would just tug on his overhauls and look up to him and tell him what song he was going to play,” Kerri said.
Carson played a few songs, including Bill Monroe's Blue Moon of Kentucky and Rhonda Vincent's False Hearted Love.
The mid-June trip was initially set up in order for Carson to take part in a Johnny Cash tribute music video. He was asked to participate after a video of him singing Folsom Prison Blues at the Moschelle Community Hall in May 2022 went viral on Facebook.
While the music video got delayed, organizers honoured the trip.
During the jam-packed, nine-day voyage, the family was immersed in music, sightseeing and family fun.
“It was a pretty amazing trip,” Kerri said.
“It was definitely a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity. … We tried to see everything we could possibly see.”
During the trip, the family got to check out Cash's secret getaway, Hideaway Farm, where the tribute video was supposed to be shot. They saw letters Cash wrote his first wife, Vivian, among various pieces of memorabilia.
“He had a bunch of books,” Carson said.
“That's where he did a lot of his reading,” Kerri added.
The stop didn't look promising initially as the gated attraction was closed when they arrived.
“(But) I rang the buzzer and they let us in,” Kerri said.
In the barn, Cash's One Piece At A Time car was there. It had broken down while at the CMA Fest and was towed back to the 107acre farm.
“While we were there, the groundskeeper was trying to get it going again so Stephen actually got to work on Johnny Cash's car,” Kerri said.
The family also went to the Grand Ole Opry and saw Vincent, Pam Tillis, Sam Hunt, Chapel Hart and Terri Clark perform.
“Now we have a new fan in the house,” Kerry said of Carson's appreciation for Clark's music. “He's been listening to her music since we got back.”
The family also had a backstage tour of the iconic venue, known as the world-famous home of country music, and went to the Ryman Auditorium, which was the former home of the Grand Ole Opry.
During one of the last days of the trip, the family visited Gary Carter's studio where Carson had an opportunity to record a version of Folsom Prison Blues.
He sang the song four times and then Carter, who has worked with the likes of Randy Travis, Faith Hill and Kenny Chesney, asked the youngster a question.
“He said, ‘Can I jam with you?” Kerri recalled.
The recorded song will be mixed and mastered before the family receives the final copy. It was not immediately known how long that process would take.
Carson's next performance will be Sunday, July 9, at 2:30 p.m. on the main stage at the Pictou Lobster Carnival.