‘American Idol’ star Caleb Kennedy announces show at SC music festival

Caleb Kennedy, a Roebuck, South Carolina, native who placed fifth on season 19 of the singing competition series, American Idol, will perform at this year’s Greenville Country Music Fest on Sept. 11.

Musicians including Sam Hunt, Riley Green, Jon Langston, Laine Hardy, Chris Bandi and more are set to join Kennedy at the CCNB Amphitheater in Simpsonville next month.

“I can’t wait to be out at @gvlfest this September 11th sharing the stage with some of my country music idols. My biggest show/festival to date,” Kennedy said in an Instagram post on Monday. “I hope I see every single one of you out there. I can promise it’s going to be a party. Use my code CALEB10 for 10% off any tickets.”

Fans might recall Kennedy withdrew from the competition in May after a controversial video resurfaced of Kennedy sitting beside a person wearing what resembled a Ku Klux Klan hood. The hood was intended to look like a mask used in “The Strangers,” a movie Kennedy had just watched with his friend, according to a previous interview with Kennedy’s mother, Anita Guy.

Kennedy, 16, was 12 at the time the video was filmed.

The controversy hasn’t stalled the teenager’s success. His self-titled EP reached No. 2 on the iTunes country chart and No. 7 among all genres in May.

Fans will have three opportunities to catch Kennedy live this month before the big festival. A list of his upcoming performances can be found on his website, www.calebkennedymusic.com.