Deep-fried country
by Joe O'Gara Aug 6, 2008
As is traditional, the entertainment lineup at the Indiana State Fair this year is chock-full of country (give or take a Backstreet Boy). And while shows at the Hoosier Lottery Grandstand require an additional ticket, there’s plenty of music for free (with a ticket for the fair, of course) at the Buckle Up Indiana Main Street Stage or the WFMS Free Stage, including locals like Casey Jamerson and Whitney Thetford. We’ll list off some of the highlights this year, with complete listings available at www.in.gov/statefair. Hoosier Lottery Grandstand The venue that has hosted the likes of Rascal Flatts, The Judds, Alan Jackson and Garth Brooks will feature three well-known country music acts during this year’s State Fair: Jessica Simpson (with Casey Jamerson) Aug. 7, Carrie Underwood (with Keith Anderson) Aug. 8 and Sugarland (with Joe Nichols) Aug. 12. With a single on the country charts this May — “Come On Over” — and a full country album due this September, Simpson is taking advantage of the audience afforded her by moving to the most popular radio format in the country. But the Kenosha News — South Wisconsin’s No. 1 news source — reports that Simpson has not been so warmly received by country enthusiasts, meeting a round of boos when she took the stage for her first country gig, opening for Sara Evans at the Country Thunder USA Festival in Randall, Wisc. Jamerson, a 2008 Pendleton Heights High School grad enjoying recent success on the airwaves with her single “I Miss You Already,” seems poised to make a run at Nashville stardom. She’s been recording in Nashville since 2005, released a demo CD in 2006 and is already working on her second album, due out this fall. Jamerson recently performed the national anthem at an Indianapolis Indians game and has a few more high-profile gigs ahead of her, including two days at the Illinois State Fair, a guest spot with .38 Special at the Indy Rib Fest and another national anthem spot at a Colts game in November. Underwood has parlayed her American Idol win into chart-toppers and headlining gigs, treading the same lucrative pop-country roads as Shania Twain or Faith Hill, proving herself to be a more versatile and lasting talent than your Ruben Studdard or Fantasia Barrinos. The duo of Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush, aka Sugarland, is on a hot streak, no doubt. The band’s first two albums, Twice the Speed of Life (2004) and Enjoy the Ride (2006) went double platinum. According to Nettles and Bush, that success made it easier when it came time to record their third album, Love On the Inside, released July 21. “I don’t know that we felt pressure,” Nettles says. “I think really because of the success … I mean obviously there’s a bit of pressure that you want to not only maintain your level of success, but you want to better yourselves. But really I think because of the success of the past two albums, we felt a bit more freedom.” Bush adds that “It was really encouraging to have so much success with all of the songs on each of the previous two albums that we’re kind of reaching. So the door was kind of wide open to go explore musically.” Main Street and Free Stage Across from the Pepsi Coliseum, the Main Street Stage will offer fairgoers a musical break from the hustle and bustle of activity on the thoroughfare. Nine acts are scheduled to perform, including Casey Jamerson, who gets a headline slot Aug. 9 after her opening gig for Simpson. Since its inception in 1990, the WFMS Free Stage has been the site for free shows by numerous up-and-coming country artists, including Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts, Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley and Montgomery Gentry. This year’s series of concerts might just be the opportunity to catch one or more of country music’s stars of tomorrow before they hit the big time. Houston singer-songwriter Jason Michael Carroll, appearing Aug. 6 at 6:30 p.m. on the Free Stage, will spend the next six weeks playing 15 different fairs and festivals across the country, as well as a couple of casinos. Carroll says, “There’s not much difference in the audiences at the casinos and those at the fairs: They both come to hear some country music. “[Playing fairs and festivals] is pretty cool. I get to go to new places, and play my music for people who might not go to arena shows or honky-tonks.” Carroll’s first album, Waitin’ in the Country, debuted atop the Billboard Country Albums chart last year. “I had told people that all it would take is for me to get to Nashville and get my songs out,” Carroll recalls. “When I got the record deal [with Sony BMG’s Arista label], it was put up or shut up time.” Waitin’ in the Country spawned three singles: “Alyssa Lies,” “Livin’ Our Love Song” and “I Can Sleep When I’m Dead.” The subject matter of “Alyssa Lies” — child abuse — made it a difficult song for Carroll to write. “For a while, I thought that ‘Alyssa Lies’ might be too dark for me,” Carroll says. “It’s based on a poem about child abuse that a friend had given me. I actually put the song away for a while until I saw a news story on television about the same type of situation. “I was trying to be patient when I wrote the song. I didn’t want to screw up the message I was trying to send. I actually got cold chills and migraines while I wrote the song.” Between concert dates, Carroll is putting the finishing touches on his next album, scheduled for release in January 2009. He admits that “Being a new artist, I have to put my personal life aside, although I do try to make as much time for my family as possible.” Aside from the solo performers, there’s also a good old-fashioned battle of the bands scheduled for the Free Stage: the 2008 Colgate Country Showdown Aug. 16. Seven country music artists from around the state will vie for a chance to move on to the Colgate Country Showdown Northeast regional competition in Marietta, Ohio, Oct. 25. This year’s participants are Jeff David, Carl Bentley, Lesley Roberts, Katie Demuth, Whitney Thetford, Rick LeDune and Bustin’ Loose. n
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