April 10, 2020 at 12:57 p.m.
Kershaw to open at fair
Kershaw to open at fair
A new opening act has been named for the big country concert at the Jay County Fair.
This morning, Jay County Fair Board announced Sammy Kershaw will open for Tracy Lawrence at the July 17 show.
Tragic circumstances led to the change for the concert. Joe Diffie, who had been slated to open for Lawrence, died March 29 of COVID-19.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Diffie family and the entire country music community! Joe will never be forgotten!” the fair board said on its Facebook page following Diffie’s death.
Diffie’s family had announced his illness just two days earlier.
“That took everybody by surprise, of course,” said fair board president Brian Aker.
Since then, the fair board has worked with entertainment consulting agency Grandstand Concerts to find a replacement for Diffie for the fair show. That led to the selection of Kershaw.
A Louisiana native, Kershaw released his debut album “Don't Go Near the Water” in 1991. He and Diffie were contemporaries, as the latter broke through as a solo artist in 1990 and had five No. 1 songs, including “Pickup Man” in 1994.
Kershaw mourned Diffie in an Instagram post March 29.
“As far as I’m concerned, we lost the best voice in country music today,” he said in the post. “I have said it for years and years and years.
“We did a lot of touring together, we became friends and then we became brothers. Gonna miss you Joe. I love you brother. God bless you and rest in peace.”
Kershaw had his first song hit the top of the country charts in 1993 with “She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful.” His other top songs include “Third Rate Romance,” “Love of My Life” and “National Working Woman’s Holiday,” all of which peaked at No. 2.
His most recent album was “The Blues Got Me” in 2016.
“We’re trying to stay in that ’80s and ’90s era for country music,” said Aker. “And he kind of fit right in. … Between Tracy Lawrence, Sammy Kershaw and Joe Diffie, their music is all somewhat similar.”
Tickets for the fair concert are $50 for the center box and standing pit, $35 for the side box and track and $30 for the grandstand. They are available at jaycountyfair.com.
Canceled events — so far those include the Spring Explosion Automobile Derbies and the Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Association Spring Swap and Sell Meet (see related story) — have taken a financial toll on the fair association. Aker said the loss of those events, as well as revenue from weekend auctions, has cost the fair board tens of thousands of dollars.
The fair board’s planned construction of a new north restroom facility is on hold as well, but not because of the pandemic.
“The weather has been the big hold,” said Aker. “We’re just kind of watching, with everything going on. That’s part of the reason we didn’t tear down our old restroom is so we have something as a backup.”
He said the goal is still to have the new restroom completed this summer.
This morning, Jay County Fair Board announced Sammy Kershaw will open for Tracy Lawrence at the July 17 show.
Tragic circumstances led to the change for the concert. Joe Diffie, who had been slated to open for Lawrence, died March 29 of COVID-19.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Diffie family and the entire country music community! Joe will never be forgotten!” the fair board said on its Facebook page following Diffie’s death.
Diffie’s family had announced his illness just two days earlier.
“That took everybody by surprise, of course,” said fair board president Brian Aker.
Since then, the fair board has worked with entertainment consulting agency Grandstand Concerts to find a replacement for Diffie for the fair show. That led to the selection of Kershaw.
A Louisiana native, Kershaw released his debut album “Don't Go Near the Water” in 1991. He and Diffie were contemporaries, as the latter broke through as a solo artist in 1990 and had five No. 1 songs, including “Pickup Man” in 1994.
Kershaw mourned Diffie in an Instagram post March 29.
“As far as I’m concerned, we lost the best voice in country music today,” he said in the post. “I have said it for years and years and years.
“We did a lot of touring together, we became friends and then we became brothers. Gonna miss you Joe. I love you brother. God bless you and rest in peace.”
Kershaw had his first song hit the top of the country charts in 1993 with “She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful.” His other top songs include “Third Rate Romance,” “Love of My Life” and “National Working Woman’s Holiday,” all of which peaked at No. 2.
His most recent album was “The Blues Got Me” in 2016.
“We’re trying to stay in that ’80s and ’90s era for country music,” said Aker. “And he kind of fit right in. … Between Tracy Lawrence, Sammy Kershaw and Joe Diffie, their music is all somewhat similar.”
Tickets for the fair concert are $50 for the center box and standing pit, $35 for the side box and track and $30 for the grandstand. They are available at jaycountyfair.com.
Canceled events — so far those include the Spring Explosion Automobile Derbies and the Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Association Spring Swap and Sell Meet (see related story) — have taken a financial toll on the fair association. Aker said the loss of those events, as well as revenue from weekend auctions, has cost the fair board tens of thousands of dollars.
The fair board’s planned construction of a new north restroom facility is on hold as well, but not because of the pandemic.
“The weather has been the big hold,” said Aker. “We’re just kind of watching, with everything going on. That’s part of the reason we didn’t tear down our old restroom is so we have something as a backup.”
He said the goal is still to have the new restroom completed this summer.
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