My CountryTown: Reed Foley – Port Orange, Florida

Regional towns are in our blood here at CountryTown! From Kurri Kurri to Broome, Ballarat to Noojee, we love the amazing country musicians our regional centres produce – but we mustn’t forget the quality artists who come from distant shores too, like Reed Foley!

Starting with neighbourhood performances at the young age of 15, Reed’s talents have taken him from small-town bars to some of NASCAR’s biggest stages and everything in between. In March of 2017, Reed released his first single, Who's Turning You On and celebrated that same day by opening for Tyler Farr and Jason Aldean at Runaway Country Music Festival. Following the release of his single, he was soon after invited to open for William Michael Morgan.

When not in Music City, Reed has been playing over 150 gigs a year and has become one of the most popular entertainers in his home state of Florida. His music draws influences from some of country music’s brightest stars including Eric Church, Morgan Wallen, Lee Brice and others. When not performing, the artist can be found in Nashville writing with some of the industry’s best like Clay Mills, Terry McBride, and Brett Sheroky.

To get to know Reed Foley a little better, we’ve asked what he loves about Port Orange, Florida.

--------------------------

1. City Center Circle

Port Orange has the most beautiful city centre area that is hidden down these two-lane, tree-covered roads that shield it from the commotion of the rest of the city. There is a small lake in the middle that the road wraps around that I love to walk and fish. On that loop, you have City Hall, the library, baseball and soccer fields, and the Kenneth W. Parker Amphitheater. To me, it’s just the most beautiful place in a town of almost 65,000. 

2. Family Days

Port Orange is home to one of the most loved events in central Florida called "Family Days". Every fall they bring in carnival rides and businesses from all over set up tents around the city centre loop. They use that event to raise money which they take and put back into the community for people in need. As a kid, it was probably the thing my friends and I looked forward to the most every year.

3. Food. Food. Food.

All the cities around us will say Port Orange is a bedroom community but it has so many great businesses and restaurants all over. They just had a new place called “Fysh” open which is now the biggest restaurant in the entire county and it sits right on the Halifax River. There’s also a lot of variety. Seafood, Japanese, Pub Food, Chinese, Italian, and my favourite, Mexican. In total, they probably have over 50 spots to eat just in the city limits. 

4. Halifax River

Speaking of the Halifax River, it’s part of the Intracoastal waterway which stretches 3,000 miles and connects to the ocean in several places. Port Orange borders the river and that basically makes it a waterway to anywhere. I love to put the boat in the water underneath the Dunlawton Bridge and take it up and down the river. The views you get on that river from sunrise to sunset are absolutely breathtaking.

5. Location. Location. Location.

The city is such a great place to live because it’s so close to everything. Disney World, Kennedy Space Center, and St. Augustine are only about an hour away each. Daytona International Speedway is practically next door so there is always and NASCAR race or some kind of event. We also are a stone's throw from the beach, so we have a ton of events for summer and spring break as well as motorcycle events and other things.

--------------------------

Keep up to date with Reed Foley on his Facebook page here.

For more of our My CountryTown series, check out here.