Flo Rida to headline fair

The big concert at the Jay County Fair has traditionally featured country music.

Occasionally, like when comedian Jeff Foxworthy headlined the 2016 event, the pattern has been broken. The fair is headed in another different direction for 2024.

Jay County Fair Board during its annual meeting Saturday announced that Flo Rida will be the featured performer July 12 during the fair.

“It’s pop music. It goes across several generations. It’s not just rap,” said fair board president Aaron Loy. “It’s still very relevant to the younger crowd and even older crowd. … And it’s a clean family show.”

Cochren & Co. will headline the Christian music concert on Thursday, July 11, at the fair.

Tickets will go on sale Saturday to stockholders and Dec. 19 to the general public. They will be available at jaycountyfair.com.

Flo Rida, a rapper from Miami Gardens, Florida, broke out with his debut album “Mail on Sunday” in 2008 that featured the hit single “Low,” featuring T-Pain. It reached the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. 

He also won a Teen Choice Award for the song that year, and it was nominated for the Grammy for best rap/sung collaboration.

The album “R.O.O.T.S.” was nominated for best rap album and album of the year for the 2010 Grammy Awards, and “Wild Ones”, a collaboration with Sia, was nominated for best rap/sung collaboration at the 2013 Grammy Awards.

In 2022, Flo Rida released a pair of country rap singles — “High Heels” featuring Walker Hayes and “No Bad Days” featuring Jimmy Allen.

His other hit songs include “Whistle,” “My House” and “Good Feeling.”

“If you listen … at every ball game, pretty much, one of his songs is played,” said fair board treasurer Travis Theurer.

“It’s high-intensity,” he added. “It’s just going to be a great show.”

Loy explained that with Country Concert in nearby Fort Loramie, Ohio, scheduled for July 10 through 13, 2024, many of the country artists the fair might typically consider were unavailable. Not wanting to compete for artists and concert-goers with the massive three-day event, the board began to consider other options, ranging from classic rock to pop.

“It’s something completely different that we’ve never done before,” Loy said. “Every year people say, ‘Let’s not do country. Do something different.’ Here’s our chance.”

The Friday, July 12, show will open with opener DJ Kronik taking the stage at 8 p.m. (Doors will open at 6 p.m.)

Tickets will be $40 for general admission. Reserved grandstand seating, which has been expanded this year, and track will be $45, with pit at $65 and box seats at $75.

Michael Cochren, born and raised in southern Indiana, headlines Cochren & Co., a band he created with friends and that now includes his wife Leah. The band plays Christian music that seeks to blur the line between pop/rock and soul/blues.

Cochren & Co.’s debut album “Don’t Lose Hope” was released in 2021, and the group was nominated for the Gospel Music Association’s Dove Award for new artist of the year.

Tickets for the show will be $20 for grandstand, $25 for box and track and $30 for pit.

The rest of the grandstand entertainment schedule, also released Saturday, features demolition derbies on Saturdays July 6 and 13. Other events are as follows:

Sunday, July 7 — Figure 8 races

Monday, July 8 — Auto cross

Tuesday, July 9 — MICHINDOH truck and tractor pulls

Wednesday, July 10 — 3 Bar J Rodeo

Prices for tickets outside of the Thursday and Friday concerts at the fair are $10 for grandstand and $20 for box. (Tickets for children 5 and younger are $5.)