By Nicole Burns for the FCT

Homecoming week in Phil Campbell was full of school spirit, family and old friends reconnecting. A surprise announcement mid-week brought just about the whole town out for the Thursday night pep rally. PCHS alumnus Jarred Pierce came home to his alma mater to give an acoustic mini-concert of his latest hits.

Pierce, a 2004 PCHS graduate, just signed a new record deal with Red Ridge Entertainment. He has a new album out and has studio time scheduled to record a new album in the coming weeks. Pierce’s song, “It’s Going Down,” is currently making a sweep across radio stations nationwide. His management team is also working out details for Pierce’s new concert tour scheduled some time next summer, although no details are being released at this time.

Things seem to be moving pretty fast for Pierce, but it’s taken many years and a lot of hard work to get to this point. “It’s crazy how it happened because I had already quit,” said Pierce. “About two years ago, I got married and I set music to the side. I thought it was time to focus on family. My father-in-law, Trent, asked if I still wanted to do music. He said he had a guy that was interested in my stuff, and that’s how the record deal came along.”

Pierce didn’t sing his hit, “It’s Going Down,” Thursday night. Instead, he said he wanted to introduce a new tune to the hometown crowd in hopes they could relate to the lyrics.

“It’s called ‘Home,’ and it’s actually about where I was raised,” said Pierce. “It’s got a little bit of everything in it – how I was raised as a Christian and learned how to pray and work. I did construction work, so I actually had to work hard. I did music on the side. To get where I’m at, I had to do two jobs, so I really had to work hard at it. ”

The crowd that filled Phil Campbell High School’s stadium seemed to respond to “Home” when Pierce serenaded them. “It’s cool to get to come back and play and let people hear what I’m doing now,” Pierce said. “There’s a lot of people here that know me. They’ve been following me on Facebook, but they haven’t got to hear it yet. For me just to be raw and sing acoustic in front of these guys, it’s pretty neat.”

“We’re proud of him. He’s a special kid,” said Carl Pierce, Jarred’s dad, who sat among family and friends in the crowd Thursday night. The elder Pierce spoke about how special all of his children are to him but admitted Jarred’s new journey will take some getting used to. “They’re excited. If Nashville is excited about it, then we are too. He’s going to be real busy for a while,” said Carl Pierce. “I just want him to keep his head on straight and remember his upbringing and where he comes from, and I think he will.”

“I’ve been blessed. I can’t say enough about the good Lord because he’s really blessed me in a lot of different ways. If it wasn’t for Him, I wouldn’t have this opportunity,” said Pierce. He said he hopes Thursday’s concert will spark new interest in his music and get his hometown excited about the things to come. “We’ve got a fan base here, but we want everybody to be a part of it and everybody to share it. I’ll help my hometown as much as I can, but I need their help.”

Before leaving, Pierce gave out some free concert tickets for his upcoming concert at the Florence-Lauderdale Coliseum Oct. 10 to members of the homecoming court and other student leaders. He thanked the crowd for their support and began to leave only to be stopped in his tracks. A voice from the pressbox asked for an encore performance of an old crowd favorite – a song Pierce sang many times to his classmates – “Big Red Bobber.” The crowd jumped to its feet and sang along – a sign of support Pierce can take to the bank.