BREAKING NEWS: Janson to headline at Steele County Fair
Rolling Stone has called him a “live legacy in the making,” and now multi-platinum recording artist Chris Janson is coming to the Steele County Free Fair grandstand.
Officials at the Steele County Fair announced their big headliners Wednesday afternoon for this year’s upcoming fair.
Janson, who is a celebrated entertainer, multi-instrumentalist and award-winning singer/songwriter, will perform Friday, Aug. 16.
Tickets go on sale today at scff.org.
The ACM Award-winner has collected accolades that place him among country music greats. Both his inspiring hit “Drunk Girl” (ACM Winner - Video of the Year) and his chart-topping, four-time platinum smash “Buy Me A Boat” were named among NSAI’s “Ten Songs I Wish I’d Written” lists – making Janson one in a handful of the industry’s most elite artists to earn the title multiple times.
“Buy Me A Boat” was also recognized as the iHeartRadio Music Awards Country Song of the Year.
“Good Vibes,” the flagship single from his 2019 album “Real Friends,” and follow-up “Done,” each topped the country charts.
Now, Janson is entering a new chapter with his fifth studio album “The Outlaw Side of Me,” which was released in summer of 2023.
Working alongside Oscar-nominated and GRAMMY®-winning producer Julian Raymond (Glen Campbell, Cheap Trick, Insane Clown Posse), Janson’s new album is a full-spectrum look at one of country music’s most electrifying stars.
From the outlaw, to the rowdy rocker, the romantic and the full-throttle performer, the LP is Chris Janson from top to bottom. The lead single from the new record, “All I Need Is You,” recently took the #1 spot at Country radio – making this his fifth #1 career single.
Other big headliners at this year’s fair are Hailey Whitters and Snake Oil.
Hailey Whitters
Hailey Whitters’ career skyrocketed when she kicked off 2023 with her late night TV debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, soon followed by performances on The Kelly Clarkson Show and The Today Show.
Now, she’s coming to the Steele County Free Fair, where she’s scheduled to perform Wednesday, Aug. 14 at the grandstand.
Tickets go on sale today at scff.org
Last May, Whitters took home the Academy of Country Music Award for New Female Artist of the Year and performed her hit single “Everything She Ain’t” during the broadcast.
The breakthrough single appeared on her 2022 studio album “Raised,” which, like her 2020 album “The Dream,” appeared on more than 15 year-end best-of lists, and was named Rolling Stone’s #1 country album of the year.
“Everything She Ain’t” marked her first-ever top 20 single at country radio, which debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart earlier this year and has been played more than 175 million times on TikTok, inspiring multiple trends on the platform.
Following a headline tour and tours with Shania Twain and Dierks Bentley, Whitters is in the midst of a festival-packed summer season before touring with Eric Church and Luke Bryan later this year.
This summer, Whitters followed her critically-acclaimed album “Raised” with a brand new, six-song EP called “I’m In Love.”
While “The Dream” focused on Whitters’ experience in Nashville, and “Raised” looked back on her life in the heartland, “I’m In Love” finds her tapping into her ‘90s country influences while exploring relationships, heartbreak and finding love.
Snake Oil
Under the Ikons of Rock banner, Snake Oil is known for an impeccable ability to impersonate music from the 70s, 80s, 90s and beyond.
The group will play at the Steele County Free Fair grandstand on Thursday, Aug. 15.
Tickets go on sale today at scff.org
According to the band’s website, the members are “rock stars, musically and visually, with spectacular costumes, hilarious audience interaction and an array of incredible special effects.”
Their over-the-top theatrics are complemented with masterful illusions and video support, it continues, with an “outstanding cast of world-class accomplished musicians and singers to ensure an authentic and energetic arena rock show experience … to guarantee a good time.”
The band has shared concert stages with The Beach Boys, Whitesnake, Starship, Cheap Trick, Night Ranger, Rick Springfield, The Guess Who, Foghat, Blue Oyster Cult, Slaughter, Great White, Warrant, Bret Michaels and many others. Dee Snider, of Twisted Sister, and Stephen Pearcy, of Ratt, have joined Snake Oil as guest performers at past concerts.
Individually, the professionals in Snake Oil have toured the world with various musical projects, are sought out as studio musicians, and have all been members of notable bands – two of which are in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
Performers they portray include: Kiss, Def Leppard, Alice Cooper, Ozzy Osbourne, Heart, Joan Jett, Metallica, Foo Fighters, Queen, Journey, Led Zeppelin, Blondie, Van Halen, Whitesnake, Pat Benatar, ACDC, The Scorpions, Rob Zombie, Lita Ford, Cher, Aerosmith, Evanescence and more.