Fair plans diverse concert lineup this year

PALMER – Bands from across the country and from multiple generations and genres are proving that the Alaska State Fair is an attractive, one-of-a-kind venue for a variety of entertainers and audience members.

This year, the Fair is hosting 11 musical acts in the AT&T Concert Series, originating in places as exotic as South Africa (Seether); as foreign – by temperature standards – as Miami, Florida (KC and the Sunshine Band and Flo Rida) and Nashville, Tennessee (Thompson Square); as urban as Long Island, New York (Blue Oyster Cult) and Sacramento, California (Tesla); and as modern as YouTube, on which Sing-Off sensations Pentatonix first connected.

Artists Brett Eldredge, Michael W. Smith and The All-American Rejects represent Illinois, West Virginia and Oklahoma, respectively.

The free musical performances at the 2014 Fair are just as diverse. Riders in the Sky and Savannah Jack are coming from Nashville, season four Sing-Off winner Home Free’s members hail from Minnesota, The Young Dubliners are a mix of Irishmen and U.S. Americans, The Kentucky Linemen’s name boasts their home state, Bryan White is from Oklahoma and Redhead Express is Palmer-grown.

So what makes the Alaska State Fair the place to be this month for all these people?

Four bands weighed in with their answers.

Keifer Thompson of Thompson Square said in a phone interview last week that he and his wife actually cancelled some of their prior engagements just so they could spend two extra days in Alaska.

“We’ve always wanted to go up there,” Thompson said.

Now that the couple is on their first solo tour, they are able to go where they want and do what they like in a way they couldn’t while touring with other bands, he said. Thompson Square has been performing since 2004, but in the last three years their tours have been much bigger, and the duo wasn’t able to accept a booking at the Fair until now.

Thompson said he likes performing at state fairs in particular because of the friendly atmosphere in which people can just hang out and listen to music.

“At state fairs, people are just there to have a good time,” he said. “They’re there for the same reason we are.”

Riders in the Sky also has a history of state fair performances – thousands, over the years, at 19 different fairs across the country – but Alaska has its own charm for them, said the Rider known as Ranger Doug.

“I think one of the things that makes the Alaska State Fair so special is that people up there in Alaska are so appreciative of the music,” he said. “They don’t always get to see the better-known bands in the lower 48 (so) they come out full of enthusiasm.”

Ranger Doug also said that the Alaska State Fair “fits us and our music perfectly” because of their outdoors- and family-themed songs and comedic riffs, but coming to Alaska is personal for them, too.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” he said. “We certainly had some great food last time we were up there, in fact every time we’ve been up there, and we’ve got some old friends in Alaska so we’re looking forward to seeing them.”

Harry Wayne “KC” Casey of KC and the Sunshine Band – yes, the group from the 70s that sings “Get Down Tonight” and “That’s the Way (I Like It)” – also has some friends up here, but 2014 will be the year of his Alaska debut.

“This will be the first time in my 30-year career that I’m performing in Alaska,” he said. “With this concert, I’ll have performed in all 50 states.”

KC said he went on a cruise to Alaska from Vancouver recently and had “just an amazing time” seeing our state’s eagles, glaciers and general wilderness. He won’t have much time to tour around after the Fair, because he intends to fly to New York for his next show the following day, but hopes “everyone will come out and have a good time.”

Even Pentatonix seems to have a soft spot for Alaska through vocalist Scott Hoying.

According to publicist Ken Phillips, Hoying came to Alaska when he was 12 years old for a six-week motorcycle trip starting in Texas. The whole group is excited about the 2014 State Fair.

“When the opp(ortunity) arose from their booking agency to come and perform in Alaska they all said yes,” Phillips wrote in an email. The band “is so so excited to be performing in Alaska! Every time we visit, we fall even more in love with the state’s beauty and people. All our Alaskan fans are so kind, and we can’t wait to put on the best show we can for them!”

For details on both free and ticketed performances at the 2014 Fair, visit alaskastatefair.org/concerts.