Award winners on tap for shows

Besides a pair of country music shows, Canfield Fair will offer a retro rock concert featuring Styx and REO Speedwagon.
By DEBORA SHAULIS
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Country music stars who will perform this summer at area county fairs have one thing in common: all of them have been recent nominees for Academy of Country Music awards. In fact, three of the four acts -- Rascal Flatts, Brad Paisley and Brooks & amp; Dunn -- have taken home trophies in the past two years.
Rascal Flatts will be the headliner at the Trumbull County Fair. The trio, which originates from Columbus, will play at 8:30 p.m. July 13. The fairgrounds are on Everett-Hull Road in Bazetta.
Singer-songwriter Chad Brock will play at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 15 during the Lawrence County Fair in New Castle.
The Canfield Fair will open and close with country music concerts by Paisley, at 8 p.m. Aug. 29, and Brooks & amp; Dunn, at 8 p.m. Sept. 3. In between those shows will be a rock concert by Styx and REO Speedwagon at 8 p.m. Sept. 2.
Top award: Rascal Flatts was named Best New Group of 2000 when the ACM Awards were presented last month. Second cousins Gary LeVox and Jay DeMarcus began singing together in 1997, when DeMarcus persuaded LeVox to move to Nashville. DeMarcus met the group's third member, Joe Don Rooney, while both were playing in Chely Wright's band. The vocal group with wide-ranging influences released its first, self-titled album last June on Lyric Street Records.
Brock, a native Floridian, was nominated for two ACMs in 1999: Best New Male Vocalist (which Paisley won); and Vocal Event of the Year for the song "A Country Boy Can Survive (Y2K Version)," with vocals by George Jones and lyrics by Hank Williams Jr. The song appears on Brock's second recording, "Yes!"
Paisley received three ACM nominations in 2000: Top Male Vocalist, Album of the Year and Song of the Year. The latter two awards were for his work on his debut album, "Who Needs Pictures." Since then, Paisley has released a new album, "Part II." It contains the stark song "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive, about life in a coal-mining town.
Past performer: Brooks & amp; Dunn, recipient of ACM's Top Vocal Duo award, is no stranger to either country music honors or the Canfield Fair. The multiplatinum-selling act has churned out 17 No. 1 hits, including "Brand New Man" and "Boot Scootin' Boogie." Brooks & amp; Dunn last performed at the Canfield Fair in 1999.
Fans won't pay big-city prices to attend any of these concerts.
Admission to the Rascal Flatts concert is free with $8 gate admission at Trumbull County Fair.
At Lawrence County Fair, all-inclusive tickets are $11, while concert-only tickets are $5. Call (724) 654-7745 for information.
Tickets to Paisley's performance will be $10 for reserve grandstand seats. Tickets for Brooks & amp; Dunn and the Styx/REO Speedwagon concerts will be $20 for reserved chairs and $18 for grandstand. Tickets may be ordered by mail beginning July 16. Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope and payment (Visa, Mastercard or money order) to Canfield Fair Tickets, Box 250, Canfield, 44406. Orders postmarked before July 13 will not be filled.
Tickets will be mailed after Aug. 1. Remaining tickets will be sold at the grandstand box office beginning Aug. 20. Box office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.