BY ROGER SMITH
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

INEZ — After months of speculation, the Martin County Harvest Festival has named Jake Hoot, a winner of NBC’s “The Voice,” as the headliner for its 30th annual event.

Hoot, who won Season 17 of “The Voice” in 2019 and “The Voice” All-Star Showdown earlier this year, will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, on the Court Street stage in downtown Inez.

The concert will be free to the public. America’s Quick Mart, owned by Jack and Ashwin Patel, is sponsoring the show.

The Kiwanis Club sponsors the Harvest Festival, which returns Sept. 18 and 19 to Court Street in Inez. It is Martin County’s largest festival and has become a defining fall tradition, drawing thousands of people for carnival rides, music, food, a parade and family activities.

The headliner announcement continues the festival’s recent run of high-profile headliners. Noah Thompson, the Louisa native who won “American Idol” in 2022, headlined in 2024. Nashville recording artist CJ Solar brought star power in 2025.

The reveal also ends the guessing that began in April when Kiwanis promotional materials announced only that a contestant from “The Voice” would perform Sept. 19. At the time, Kiwanis Club president Melissa Phelps called the coming announcement “a big deal for us.”

Hoot is known for soulful vocals and a traditional country sound.