CANFIELD, Ohio – Country music star Brad Paisley and classic-rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd will be the grandstand concert artists at this year’s Canfield Fair.
Paisley will perform Sunday, Aug. 31, and Lynyrd Skynyrd will close out the fair Monday, Sept. 1.
Tickets for both shows will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, April 18, at Ticketmaster.com. Prices range from $39.50 to $125 (plus fees) for Paisley and $50.50 to $126 (plus fees) for Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Tickets will not be sold through the Canfield Fair box office until later this summer, according to a news release from the fair.
An online presale for both concerts will take place from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday; use the password rooster.
Both Paisley and Lynyrd Skynyrd have played at the fair in the past.
Paisley, who is a native of the Wheeling, W.Va., area, played the grandstand in 2001, when his career was just getting started. Since then, he has become one of the genre’s biggest stars.
Paisley has won three Grammy awards, two American Music awards, 14 Country Music Association awards and 15 Academy of Country Music awards.
A member of the Grand Ole Opry since 2001, Paisley wrote 21 of his 24 No. 1 hits. In 2008, he became the first artist to achieve 10 consecutive Billboard Country Airplay No. 1 singles.
Lynyrd Skynyrd – the definitive Southern rock band – last played the Canfield Fair grandstand in 2008.
Formed in the late 1960s, the band has persevered through triumph and tragedy, including a 1977 airplane crash that killed founding members Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines.
Van Zant’s brother Johnny reformed the band 10 years after the crash and continues to keep it going. Longtime member Rickey Medlocke is the band’s guitarist.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band’s list of hits includes “Free Bird,” “Simple Man,” “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Gimme Two Steps,” “They Call Me the Breeze,” “That Smell” and “Tuesday’s Gone.”
The fair’s grandstand acts are booked by Youngstown concert promoter JAC Live, which always gives the task special attention because of its importance to the region.
“Although JAC Live has worked across the country, the Canfield Fair is special to us and provides a feeling that goes unmatched,” Ken Bigley, COO of JAC Live, said n a press statement. “This is the place where we first saw the concerts that fueled our desire to go into the entertainment business. So working with the fair board to bring [these] legendary performers … is incredible.”
Tickets for the other grandstand attractions, including the demolition derby and the truck and tractor pull, will go on sale later this summer. Go to CanfieldFair.com for up-to-date ticket and event information.
The Canfield Fair, now in its 179th year, is the largest county fair in Ohio.
Pictured at top: Country music star Brad Paisley.