Click Here To See Our Photo Gallery From the Indiana State Fair
The first two weeks of August in the capital city of Indianapolis is a notable time of year as the annual Indiana State Fair comes to town. Families flock to the fairgrounds to see various sites from 4-H Barns, local farmer’s homemade goods, carnival rides, and of course music. Each year the Fair plays host to concerts covering varied genres of music, including country music. For 2017, the Chevrolet Silverado Free Stage hosted several country acts including High Valley, Montgomery Gentry, Midland, and Kiefer Sutherland. Check out our recaps below (unfortunately due to unavoidable circumstances, we regretfully missed High Valley on August 8):
August 9 – Montgomery Gentry showed off their country prowess to a large crowd on a gorgeous Indiana night. The duo sang fan favorites like “My Town”, “Hell Yeah”, “What Do Ya Think About That”, “Hillbilly Shoes“, and several others. They introduced new tunes “Outskirts” and “Drink A-long Song” that will be included on their upcoming album. The guys kept their momentum up and the crowd on their feet, engaging them in between songs. At one moment, the duo spoke of our country’s freedom and those who fight for it, setting up an obvious opening dialogue to their tributary tunes “Where I Come From” and “Something To Be Proud Of”. The sense of patriotism was further enhanced by the presence of a small group of US Navy Sailors who joined them on stage during the performance.
August 15 – Next up was Midland. The country trio of Mark Wystrach, Jess Carson and Cameron Duddy from Dripping Springs, TX recently came into the country music scene dripping, pun intended, in classic 70’s, 80’s, and early 90’s attire with sounds of Dwight Yoakam and Willie Nelson. Although new to country music and the State Fair scene – the crowd, albeit moderate, seemed genuinely impressed with their great harmonizing vocals and light-hearted banter in between tunes. They sang songs from their self titled EP like “Burn Out”, “Check Cashin’ Country”, “This Old Heart”, and recently RIAA-Gold Certified hit song “Drinkin’ Problem“. They played an older song called “14 Gears”, as well as some covers from Dwight Yoakam’s “Honky Tonk Man” to Alabama’s “Dixieland Delight” (a duet they did with Tim McGraw while opening for him and wife Faith Hill on their Soul2Soul Tour). Midland introduced new music from their upcoming debut album On The Rocks including “More Than a Fever”, “Altitude Adjustment”, “Champagne for The Pain”, and “Nothing New Under The Neon”, the latter two being included on a five tune Spotify Sessions release. This trio was infectious and fun and hopefully a return for the Fair.
August 18 – Kiefer Sutherland, the Canadian born actor, director, and country music singer was the last country act at the Fair. As he is well known for his roles in various movies and tv shows, the crowd was rather large, as expected, and very welcoming. Sutherland, floored by the positive feedback he’d gotten from his first time at a State Fair, always stopped between songs and took time to thank the audience for the positivity. Sutherland’s style is an edgy country with a soulful grit. He sang tunes from his debut album Down In a Hole, which was actually released fourteen years after his step into the biz. The songs swayed from deep personal ones like “Not Enough Whiskey”, “Truth In Your Eyes”, “Calling Out Your Name” to more folksy tunes like “Shirley Jean”, written from a the point of view of death row inmate. Paying honor to the Hag, Sutherland and his band performed Merle Haggard‘s “Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down.” More edgy tunes that got the crowd going we’re the title track “Down in a Hole” and “Going Home”. Most notable was “Saskatchewan”, sung beautifully with soft guitar and the huskiness in his voice. To top the night, Sutherland broke into a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Knocking on Heavens Door”, a song that made a hot August night at the Fair pretty cool.
The Indiana State Fair returns to the Fairgrounds on August 3-19, 2018. For more information, visit their website: www.indianastatefair.com.
For more information on High Valley, visit their website: www.highvalleymusic.com
For more information on Montgomery Gentry, visit their website: www.montgomerygentry.com
For more information on Midland, visit their website: www.midlandofficial.com
For more information on Kiefer Sutherland, visit his website: www.kiefersutherlandmusic.com