Singer and Paulding native Caleb Hutchinson will perform in Dallas at Veterans Park, located at 240 Constitution Blvd in the Relay for Life event on Saturday, May 17th.
Hutchinson has picked up a few pounds, is bearded and has longer hair and often wearing a cowboy hat since his initial flourish of success in 2018. He honed his craft while attending South Paulding High School and went on to score on American Idol in May of 2018, finishing as runner-up to Maddie Poppe.
Hutchinson responded by email to a request for comment on his upcoming visit.
"I couldn’t be more excited to be coming back home to Paulding County to play Relay for Life! I spent my entire life in Paulding before I moved to Nashville, and I’ve been fortunate enough to play music in a lot of different places, but there’s nothing like playing for the folks you grew up with, who come from where you come from,” he said. “Getting to play for such an amazing cause that so many people, including myself, have been impacted by makes it even better. I can’t wait to eat my momma’s cooking and hopefully see a lot of old friends and new."
According to some bio information posted on his website,
“Hutchinson’s voice and wit inspired important collaborations on his 2019 self-titled debut EP, produced by Grammy winner Kristian Bush, and 2021 follow-up, “Slot Machine Syndrome,” produced by Grammy-nominated Americana stalwart, Brent Cobb.
In 2022, Caleb self-produced the darkly themed EP, “Songs I’ll Never Sing Again,” and wrote and starred in the accompanying short film. With his new project, “Southern Galactic,” Hutchinson explores new territory while maintaining his reverence for the honesty and storytelling that seeded his love for country music as a Georgia boy listening to Mississippi John Hurt and Waylon Jennings cassettes with his dad.”
Hutchinson performs later this month at Veterans Park during the Relay For Life event. Since 1985, communities across the world have come together to participate in Relay For Life honor and remember loved ones and take action for lifesaving change.
Relay for Life is a community-based fundraising event organized by the American Cancer Society to support cancer research, honor survivors, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease. Teams take turns walking or running around a track, symbolizing the ongoing battle against cancer, while raising money and awareness.
According to information provided on the RFL facebook page,
Paulding County’s Relay for Life 2025 is planned as six hours full of ceremonies, entertainment, food trucks, a kids-zone, free concert and the first ever Cruise-In with free entry and all makes/models welcome. Opening Ceremony begins at 4:30 p.m. and will recognize all of our cancer Survivors and Caregivers.
At 6:30 p.m. Paulding County's own Hutchinson will perform. At 9:30 p.m. will be the luminaria ceremony to remember loved ones who have passed away from cancer. As it gets dark, we will light the luminaria bags surrounding the track in a memorable luminaria ceremony.
The event is free, (apart from choosing to purchase food, play games or make a donation).
To register for Relay for Life in Dallas, Georgia, you can visit the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life website to find out different ways to participate, volunteer, and donate.

By Richard Grant, Dallas New Era Staff Writer