Rising Country Stars Josh Ross, Drew Baldridge Headlining 2025 Fayetteville Dogwood Festival

The Fayetteville Dogwood Festival is back in full bloom this April, with rising country stars Josh Ross and Drew Baldridge serving as headliners for the 43rd annual event.

The huge downtown event is set for April 25-27 at Festival Park and the surrounding areas, and will feature several returning favorites, and some new attractions, according to new Executive Director Kaylynn Suarez. Suarez took over in December, and lead the announcement of the 2025 festival at a media night event Saturday.

For this year's festival, things will kick off Friday night, April 25, and local music will be front and center, with the Simpletones, Fear State, and Echostone.

Saturday night will start with Raleigh-based country singer Nicholas Vernon. He'll be followed by versatile local band The Guy Unger Band. And then rounding out the headlining set will be Josh Ross, followed by Drew Baldridge.

"We bounced back and forth about Saturday's genre," Dogwood Festival entertainment chair Curtis Jordan said. "Country never fails. Country is undefeated in this area."

Ross is best known for his recent smash hit "Single Again," and has five Canadian Country Chart top-5 hits.

Baldridge is best known for his hit "She's Somebody's Daughter," and is a rising star in the industry.

After a simplified festival in 2024, the Dogwood Festival is aiming to get back to some of the things that made it the biggest event in the area.

Suarez said this year's Kids Zone will be a free area, and will feature several activities designed at families with young children. Also returning this year will be the car show on Sunday morning, which will be held on Person St.

A full lineup of events is still to come, but the festival will include food trucks, midway rides, craft vendors, and more of the usual favorites. Also returning will be the opening Cork-And-Fork ticketed pre-reception on Thursday night.