Creepy Crawly Fest III + Payton Pruitt of Carver Commodore

We're gearing up for a weekend of live music, Halloween spirit, and the third annual Creepy Crawly Fest that's fast becoming another reason why downtown Florence, Alabama is a destination spot. We can hardly contain our blue cup excitement for this one!

We also sat down with the man behind the festival, Payton Pruitt, to talk about his self-taught graphic design prowess, his band, Carver Commodore, and what to expect at the festival this weekend.

-The Editors, Fernhill Edition

Feature Story

Payton Pruitt is chasing the music

Payton Pruitt is not a man who waits for someone else to have a better idea. He's a talented musician, band leader, and self-taught graphic artist who has a pattern of becoming something out of necessity. Music came first. He started learning graphic design because his band needed to advertise an upcoming show. "Then [I] started doing it for other people, just randomly, and then it just kind of kept snowballing from there." Through a mix of freelance work and a full time graphic design position, his self-taught vocation now pays the bills.

But for Payton, the visual work is just a day job, albeit a creative one that is always, inherently, influenced by the music. The goal is to make the music endeavor work full time, to pay for all the things, allow the band to tour when they want, and to give Payton the space to keep creating.

“Music is the thing that I'm always chasing after.” —Payton Pruitt

Fortunately, Payton's band, Carver Commodore has a lot going for it. The indie rock group came together in 2016 after years of dabbling in other genres and high school bands. That's when he added lead vocals to guitar playing. "I started singing, again, out of necessity," he says. "Nobody else wanted to do it, so I was like, I'll do it. And then started writing songs, same thing, out of necessity, and just kept going."

In 2021 Carver Commodore settled into the current band that includes Phillip Blevins (guitar), Noah Freeman (drums), Clayton Christopher (keys/guitar), David Smith, Jr. (bass), and Payton Pruitt (vocals/guitar). Since then they've released four EPs and 3 full-length albums with a fourth in pocket, produced several music videos, toured the U.S., and in 2024 produced their own Halloween music festival, Creepy Crawly Fest.

They've self-released every EP and album they've created, though they have worked with entities including the Shoals' own Single Lock Records for distribution. They've recorded most of their releases at Florence's Sun Drop Studios with engineer and co-producer Austin Motlow. "We have a lot to show for the time that we have put into it," Payton says. "We're just hoping that somebody will stumble upon it one day and a whole world will open up to them. That's the hope."

Their most recent EP, Take Out, was released earlier this year. It's an up-tempo rocker with influences like The Strokes, The White Stripes and Kings of Leon peppered throughout. "We grew up listening to a lot of '70s rock and stuff like that, but also early-2000s stuff," Payton says. "Because we all still listen to music constantly and are constantly finding new artists, I would say the stuff that we're working on right now is a mix of all those things, with a more modern thing [like] Wednesday or MJ Lenderman or Djo. We try to toe the line somewhere between those two."

Band members are spread out across Alabama, which creates a unique challenge for collaboration, but they've found a way to make it work. Lucky for us. Their newest single from a forthcoming album, titled, They're Killing All the Cowboys, dropped October 2nd. Their music videos and stage presence are inventive with a hint of mischief, like this recent rooftop rendition of their new cowboy single.

It's all self-produced, playful, and fun with costumes and visual decor being a recurring theme in their shows and music videos. Payton's eye for design and detail is present in a way that makes you feel like you're missing out on something if you're not paying attention.

You can pay your full attention on Saturday, October 24th at the Shoals Theatre where Carver Commodore will headline the final night of the three-day Creepy Crawly Fest.

Keep reading for more information about the festival.

Main Stage

Tonight! Creepy Crawly Fest III kicks off!

Tonight kicks off the third annual Creepy Crawly Fest, Alabama's only Halloween and music festival, in downtown Florence. What started in 2016 as a small, word-of-mouth gathering has grown into a full-blown fall festival with four stages and twenty musical acts over three days. Over 750 people attended in 2025 and the host band, Carver Commodore and the festival's lead organizer, Payton Pruitt, think that number will continue to grow.

Tonight's show opens the festival at Singing River Brewery with the Boneyard Bash featuring metal bands, Whipper, Meadows, You Will Burn, and Hillcrest.

Tomorrow, Friday, October 23rd brings the festival to the Shoals Theatre with Penny & Sparrow headlining, plus a free-to-all stage on Mobile Plaza and a Halloween market that will continue through Saturday night. Costumes are optional, but way more fun. In fact, there's a costume contest if you do dress up, and a pumpkin carving/decorating contest for the more hands-on type.

Follow the festival's Instagram page @ccchalloweenfest for details on the shows, market, and contests. You can grab tickets for the Shoals Theatre performances here. Below is the schedule for each day.

Looking Forward

Also this weekend in Wilson Park, the 40th annual Florence Renaissance Faire on Saturday and Sunday. It's free for all to attend.

Next weekend you can find Fernhill Realty at the Howl-O-Ween 5k run and walk to raise funds for the animal shelters in Lauderdale and Colbert counties. More on that event next Thursday!

We want to say a special thank you to photographer Abby Cagle for sharing her work with us to illustrate this week's feature story. We continue to be impressed and grateful for the bounty of creative talent in our small enclave of the world and are honored to share it with you, too.