Concerts on the Pier – Kate White

The Concerts on the Pier returns in Summer 2022 as a concert series.  The second

concert of the series is  Saturday, July 16 at 7:30 pm on Lake Tillery, near Goat Island (the last cove before the southern dam on the Stanly County side of the lake) and will feature Miss Stanly County Kate White.  People can listen to the free concert from their boats, from shore, or by watching the live stream on the Stanly County Arts Council’s Facebook page. If interested in shore seating, please email Austin Coats to reserve your spot @ coats_austin@yahoo.com.

Kate White, 21, a resident of New London, was crowned Miss Stanly County last October. She has performed locally with The Talent Company and The Uwharrie Players since she was 10 years old.  Her most well-known role was playing Jo March in Little Women with The Talent Company in 2019. She will be returning to the stage as Laura Ingalls Wilder in Little House on The Prairie with The

Uwharrie Players from July 29- August 7 at the Agri- Civic Center. White recently returned from competing in the Miss North Carolina competition where she represented Stanly County well! Her social impact initiative is called “Find Your Spark” which promotes unique arts opportunities to Stanly County’s youth in order to help them find their artistic outlet! “I feel very honored to perform on the pier for the Stanly County Arts Council and raise money for a cause that I am so passionate about! ”  said Kate White.

White’s strong vocals allow her to perform a range of genres of music.  The audience can look forward to hearing her sing Valerie by Amy Winehouse, Shallow by Lady Gaga, Drops of Jupiter by Train, and Vienna by Billy Joel.  “I feel very honored to perform on the pier for the Stanly County Arts Council and raise money for a cause that I am so passionate about! ”  said Kate White.

“We are so excited that Kate is part of our concert series.  It is a privilege for us to bring visibility to our aspiring, local performers.  We hope everyone will come out and support Kate.  The arts have played an important role in her life, so much so, that her platform for Miss Stanly County was promoting the arts to our area youth.  We appreciate everything she has done this past year to spread her passion to others,” said Lynn Plummer, chairman of the Stanly County Arts Council.

Concert on the Pier is the brainchild of Austin Coats. When the Covid pandemic hit, Coats was living in New York City. During the New York shut down, Coats decided to return to Stanly County until Covid restrictions improved. In Fall 2020, Coats determined that performing from a pier for boats or for an audience socially distanced on shore would meet the needs to hear live music while being performed in a safe environment.  The first Concert on the Pier occurred on a chilly night in October 2020 with Coats performing and raising much needed funds for the local arts community by having donations benefit the Stanly County Arts Council. He followed that concert with another concert in May 2021, with much better weather and once again the funds raised benefited the Stanly County Arts Council.  Even though the pandemic is at low levels and many of the precautions are no longer necessary, the Concert on the Pier is still a great idea to enjoy live music.  To make it even better for Summer 2022, Coats thought it would be wonderful to have a series and have other performers take the Pier.  The first concert was on June 18th with Dustin Curlee;  July 16^th with Miss Stanly County Kate White, and August 13th with Coats.  Each musician has their own style, so it’ll be fun to attend all three.  Donations will be accepted again on behalf of the Stanly County Arts Council, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit whose mission is to encourage and promote broad-based cultural and educational activities in the arts throughout Stanly County.