Idol concert

This is it.

Scotty McCreery is coming to Jay County.

McCreery, the country music artist who got his start on “American Idol,” was announced Tuesday as the headliner for this year’s Jay County Fair.

He will be the featured performer for a country concert Friday, July 14, at the fair that will also feature Gabby Barrett and Jonny James. Their show is part of eight days of grandstand entertainment that also includes We Are Messengers for a Christian music concert and bookend demolition derbies.

Tickets for the concerts and all other grandstand events will go on sale at 8 a.m. Monday at jaycountyfair.com. Stockholders can purchase tickets at the fair office from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday.

“We felt Scotty offered the most wide range for people,” said fair board president Aaron Loy of McCreery’s selection from a list of possible artists. “Being somewhat younger, being on ‘American Idol,’ he has probably the most name recognition for the area.”

McCreery won the 10th season of the talent search TV show “American Idol” and his first studio album, “Clear as Day,” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts. His singles released include No. 1 hits “Five More Minutes” and “This is It,” and his most recent album, “Same Truck,” was released in 2021 featuring the title song and “Damn Strait.”

The North Carolina native was the 2012 Academy of Country Music Award winner for best new artist and had the CMT Music Awards breakthrough video of the year for “The Trouble with Girls.”

The board is hopeful that McCreery will continue an upward trend with the big country show that the event has seen over the last couple of years, Loy said.

“You have to have a big name to draw people,” he added. “We figure that’s a way to get more people from outside of Jay County coming into to watch a concert.

“We see it working the last couple of years and the board wants to continue doing a big show.”

Barrett, another “American Idol” alum, was named the Academy of Country Music Awards New Female Artist of the Year in 2021. Her songs “I Hope” and “The Good Ones” topped the U.S. country charts.

“She’s an up and comer,” said Loy. “She’s doing a lot of really good things. According to our agents, they think this could be one of the best lineups they see all year.”

James is an Indiana native who debuted with the single “Smoke” in 2021.

We Are Messengers is a Christian band originally from Ireland. Its top songs include “Come What May,” “Maybe It’s OK,” “Saviour,” and “Wholehearted.”

Gill has been in the music industry for more than 20 years and is a worship leader and songwriter.

“We started this a couple years ago and each year it keeps growing and growing,” said Loy of the Christian music night. “So we’re feeling really good about it.”

Much of the rest of the grandstand schedule will be familiar to regular fairgoers, with demolition derbies on Saturdays July 8 and July 15, autocross and straw races Sunday, July 9, 3 Bar J Rodeo returning after a year off Tuesday, July 11, and Full Throttle Monster Trucks on July 12. The new addition to the lineup is Delaware County Championship Wrestling on Monday, July 10, alongside a classic car cruise in.

One key change is that Saturday and Sunday grandstand events will begin at 3 p.m. instead of the traditional 7 p.m. The goal is to complete events at a more reasonable hour, as the popular demolition derbies have run well past midnight. In connection, free admission will end at noon on the weekends.