Country music fans beat the heat on day one of CCMF

Crowds of country music fans began their weekend-long takeover of the Myrtle Beach oceanfront as the Carolina Country Music Festival swung into full gear Friday.

Various acts performed on both of the festival's stages throughout the afternoon as fans, decked out in red, white and blue, enjoyed a variety of foods and drinks. Some vendors offered free samples while others had games to pass the time in between sets.

For country music lovers like April Hughes, coming to the festival early in the day is a chance to snag a good seat and catch as much music as possible.

"It's nice when it's not so crowded," she said.

Some avoided those crowds in the festival by zip-lining across the old Pavilion site for a bird's eye view.

Friday's events followed Thursday night's opening concert featuring Cole Swindell.

Toby Keith was scheduled to headline Friday's line-up. He's followed by Luke Bryan on Saturday and Zac Brown Band on Sunday.

This story was originally published June 8, 2018 at 7:18 PM with the headline "Country music fans beat the heat on day one of CCMF."