State Fair Releases Concert Lineup With Another Lo-Fi Video

T-Plain
07/06 09:26 PM

I’ve never understood why the NC State Fair lineup is a just bunch of country acts and 1 or 2 other acts thrown in.

I picked 3 other states off the top of my head (OH, IA, WI) and checked out their lineups, and they all had at least some famous non-country names. I know U2 isn’t going to play the fair, but other states seem to at least have Walnut Creek-grade acts mixed in. I’d go see Alice Cooper or ZZ Top at Dorton, but they’ve got about the same chance of being booked for the NC State Fair as Liberace.

I wonder if the Ag dept has no interest in anything but country, or if we don’t pay the acts well or something.

JeffS
07/06 11:41 PM

Yes, there are a lot of country fans, but there has to be a large percentage of fair attendees (I’m guessing half?) that completely ignore the concerts because of the all-country lineup.

Everyone seems determined to play it up as a hickfest. The video… is just lazy. Budget isn’t even an excuse, as the fair should fund itself.

Lisa Jeffries
07/07 01:19 AM

One of the main reasons, are the costs and sales. Country music is still one of the more (barely) affordable genres in respect to booking costs.

As for the artists, Carroll, Church, and Pickler are all NC natives, so that should be a no-brainer. It just makes sense to bring artists with roots, when possible. The “hometown” opportunity is not only good for promotion (from both the venue and the label), but also for ticket sales.

Being a country fan, I love the line-up and will be at every country show. I also really appreciate how affordable they kept these events. Many of those artists would draw more than $5.00 in door charges at private venues.

DPK
07/07 04:26 AM

@T-Plain:  You realize where you live right?  This is the south and a vast majority of the people here enjoy country music.  Myself included.

Todd
07/07 10:24 AM

I’m a NC native, and I have never been able to stand Country music.  It’s ridiculous that with so many mid-range local rock bands and with the popularity of events such as Downtown Live that we can’t get some of those bookings at the fair.

Raleigh is a city in transition, and it would be nice to see the fair begin to reflect our increasing distance from the “Southern” stereotypes.  I would argue that the articles on this blog are a great example of just how progressive our city is.  I think Jade’s interpretation of Raleigh is at least 20 years out of date.

T-Plain
07/07 10:57 AM

I don’t expect there to be NO country. I don’t even care if it’s country-heavy, I just think a mix would be nice. Or big names that non-fans of country would go see. George Jones is playing the Mahoning County Fair in Ohio for god’s sake, I’d go see him if he came here. He’s booked for a tour during the NC State Fair, but that’s just an example.
Really, I love the Fair and go to look at the exhibits and eat the food, so I’m never really disappointed.

RaleighRob
07/07 11:23 AM

I’m an NC native who has never liked country either, so I understand the complaints. 

However, the State Fair isn’t really a “Triangle” event.  The majority of the folks who go (from what I can tell) are from down east….rural folks who make only one trip each year to the “big city”, and this is it.  (I remember walking around in 2008 and saw the people with McCain stickers outnumbered those with Obama stickers almost 5 to 1, which obviously didn’t reflect the state’s outcome.) 
So yeah, I guess I can see why they’re mostly booking country acts.

Brian
07/09 06:11 AM

The Possum at the State Fair would be AMAZING.

*sigh*