Douglas County Fair concert lineup announced
Friday, April 25, 2008
The region will get its country groove on this summer with Douglas County Fair headliner Rodney Atkins, whose album “If You’re Going Through Hell” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Album chart in 2006 and stayed on that list for nearly two years. The singer gets top billing on the fair’s opening day Aug. 5, it was announced this morning.
Country counterpart Kellie Pickler, a 2006 “American Idol” finalist, is the only female act this year and will take the stage Aug. 8.
The fairgrounds will turn into classic-rock heaven in between those events, with The Doobie Brothers taking the stage Aug. 6 and Bad Company — with former lead singer Brian Howe and special guest Edgar Winter — following on Aug. 7, ready for love from Douglas County.
Fairgrounds Director Harold Phillips announced the lineup during a live interview this morning on the Smith & Wesson morning show on KRSB radio.
“This is the most balanced lineup in recent years of the fair,” he said.
Phillips added that he thought Kellie Pickler would be the surprise this year and predicts the largest audience the Friday of her performance.
“She reminds me of a young Dolly Parton,” he said. “She’s just a hometown girl that’s done well.”
Reserved seat tickets will be $25 apiece for all acts and tickets will go on sale from 8 a.m. to noon on May 3 at the fairgrounds business office. After that, they will be available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Tickets will also be available online beginning at noon May 3 at
Douglas County Fair. However, buyers will not be able to choose specific seats using that method.
General admission to all the shows is free with fair admission.
Headliner Rodney Atkins has been quoted as saying he sings about the world as he knows it. The country swooner struck gold with his title track “If You’re Going Through Hell,” which lyricizes finding the strength to get through the toughest situations. His fourth No. 1 single, “Cleaning This Gun,” rose to the top of the chart, following “Watching You” — written about his son Elijah — and “These Are My People.”
Atkins is nominated for six awards, including top male performer, at this year’s Academy of Country Music Awards show.
The second day of the fair will host the blues-based, rock-tinged Doobie Brothers, a ’70s band that harmonized its way to the top of the charts with “Black Water,” “China Grove” and “Jesus is Just Alright.”
The Doobie Brothers are still rockin’ strong with founding members Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons, along with Michael Hossack, who joined the group in 1972, and John McFee, who has been jamming with the Doobies since 1979.
The classic-rock band has sold more than 50 million records worldwide and has 16 top 40 hits.
Growing up, Edgar Winter and his older brother Johnny Winter were heavily influenced by blues, country and Cajun music. In 1972, the younger brother formed The Edgar Winter Group. With that band, he achieved a No. 1 hit instrumental, “Frankenstein” off the album “They Only Come Out at Night.” Another popular song off that album was “Free Ride.”
On the third evening of the Douglas County Fair, Edgar Winter will join forces with Bad Company, former lead singer Brian Howe included, to perform the band’s hit songs, such as “Feel Like Makin’ Love.” The band was managed by Peter Grant, the same man that jockeyed Led Zeppelin and The Yardbirds to rock ‘n’ roll fame.
Bad Company’s self-titled album hit No. 1 in 1974 and featured classics “Bad Company” and “Ready for Love.” Among their other popular hits were “Good Lovin’ Gone Bad” and “Shooting Star.”
The only female act to perform at the fairgrounds this year is Kellie Pickler, a blonde, small-town girl born in Albemarle, N.C. She gained fame as a finalist on “American Idol” with her ditzy personality and Southern charm.
Former Miss Douglas County Outstanding Teen, Julia Kehoe, 18, was at the press conference this morning to announce other fair activities. She will be the media liaison this summer, pointing people in the right direction and answering questions. She said she is most excited about Pickler’s appearance in Douglas County.
“Just because I watch ‘American Idol’; she’s the one I know most about,” said Kehoe. “She’s cute, fun, bubbly.”
The singer’s less-than-rosy background became well known when it was broadcast to the world that her mother left when Pickler was 2 years old. Pickler’s father was in and out of prison, so she lived with her grandparents and became especially close to her grandmother. Her album “Small Town Girl” was released in 2006 and has yielded three top 15 singles, including “Red High Heels,” “I Wonder” — which she wrote about her mother’s abandonment — and “My Angel,” dedicated to her grandmother.
Before her stardom, Pickler was a roller-skating waitress at Sonic, the drive-in fast food chain.
• You can reach reporter Cara Pallone at 957-4208 or by e-mail at
cpallone@newsreview.info.
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