The Concert Series kicks off Saturday, October 4th with Giovani & the Hired Guns on stage at 7:30 p.m. Back in 2015, Giovannie Yanez wanted to form a band of brothers who could put on a high energy show and deliver a sound that the Texas Country scene had never seen before. And he has done just that. With catchy, upbeat songs like “Lover Boy”, the group out of Stephenville, TX has made a name for themselves in the Texas music scene where they are known for playing thrilling shows that always keep you on your toes.
And that’s exactly where you want to be when Kody West takes the stage at 9:30 p.m. Bringing his mix of Texas Country and Bluegrass for some good-for-the-soul grooves, West has gained a fast following with loyal fans.
Texas Music scene frontrunners, Cody Canada & The Departed, take the stage at 11:30 p.m. Red Dirt ghosts from Canada’s upbringing merge with favored Cross Canadian Ragweed tunes that blend with a revival of classic country gold hits to bring a well-rounded sonic experience to the audience. Expect to hear hits like “HippieLovePunk”, “InBetweener” and “All Nighter”.
As vendors, livestock and home economic exhibits move in and contests start, the stage goes quiet until Thursday, October 8th at 8:15 p.m. when the influence of Cross Canadian Ragweed shows back up on the stage with Austin County’s very own Carson Jeffery. Jeffery grew up in the ranching and western way of life, spending a lot of time at his family’s ranch in Dryden, as well as his hometown of Cat Spring. In the summer of 2019, he recorded his debut album “Muchos Sonidos”.
At 10:15 p.m., Palestine native Kolby Cooper hits the stage bringing songs such as “It Ain’t Me”, “Every Single Kiss” and “Tired”. Cooper’s biggest musical influences are Waylon Jennings, Chris Ledoux and Cross Canadian Ragweed. So, if you’ve liked the music so far, you are sure to love Kolby Cooper!!
Friday night, “New Male Vocalist of the Year” nominee, Jon Stork returns to the Austin County Fair stage at 8:15 p.m. with hits like “In Your Radio”, “Rodeo Blues”, “One Night Stand” and “Facts and Lies”.
One of country music’s treasures, Mark Chesnutt, comes on-stage Friday at 10:15 p.m. Critics have hailed him as a classic Country singer of the first order. With 14 number 1 hits – including “Brother Jukebox”, “Old Flames Have New Names” and “Blame It On Texas, 23 top ten singles, four platinum albums an five gold records, it’s easy to see why.
Sam Riggs brings his brand of rock-infused country to the stage on Saturday, October 10
th at 9:00 p.m. Riggs’ risky nature and rebel spirit show through in his music, and that no-fear approach to life is quickly setting him apart. Siting Garth Brooks, the Foo Fighters, Eric Church and A Day To Remember among his influences, Riggs says “I need to push it to the edge. I don’t know how to be any other way.” With nearly 30 million streams on Spotify, 7.82 million views on YouTube and 30,000 subscribers, Riggs’s singles “Hold On and Let Go”, “High on a Country Song” and “Second Hand Smoke” are sure to get the stage rocking for our entertainment closer.
“Gritty Authenticity” – those are the words to describe Whiskey Myers, who takes the stage at 11:00 p.m. Since 2014, each of the bands’ releases have been bigger and bigger. Following their break-out third album, 2014’s Early Morning Shakes, their most recent record, Mud, climbed to No. 4 on Billboard’s country charts in 2016. And that was before the group was featured in Kevin Costner’s TV series Yellowstone in 2018 (not just on the soundtrack, but on screen, performing in a bar), which propelled the band’s entire catalogue into the Top 10 of the iTunes country chart. But playing to larger and wilder crowds — including audiences of more than 100,000 at the Download Festivals in London and Paris — hasn’t caused Whiskey Myers to change their sound. “We just bring our songs to the table and make it sound like us,” says lead singer Cody Cannon. “We never think about it. We just try to go in and write a good song, whether it’s country or rock and roll or blues.” “There’s never a plan or the sense that we need to make a song sound a certain way,” adds guitarist John Jeffers. “A country song could end up a rocker or the other way around — it’s extremely organic, and that’s always been us as a band.”
The Austin County Fair began in 1927 as an association to encourage agriculture and horticulture by the exhibition of livestock and farm products. The World War II era brought about an important change in the emphasis of the Fair: to support the interest of youth in agriculture, livestock and home economics. This is carried out by the annual Friday Youth Auction Sale. Last year’s Youth Auction Sale totaled over $1.5 million and broke 5 Champion sale records!
Since 1993, The Austin County Fair Association has been awarding Memorial Scholarships in memory of deceased directors and spouses of directors. The Fair Association takes pride in awarding scholarships to the youth of Austin County for all their hard work they put toward their 4-H and FFA projects. In 2020, we awarded $62,500 to graduating seniors from Austin County’s high schools.
It’s been a crazy year! And we are so looking forward to having the Austin County Fair & Rodeo, Friday, October 2nd through Sunday, October 11th. So, contact one of the Queens’ candidates or go to their website at www.austincountyfair.com and buy your season pass for 4 nights of concerts for only $35.
Come on out & have some fun while supporting local youth education and scholarships. We ALL deserve it!!
