162nd CANFIELD FAIR The freedom to rock

By KATIE SEMINARA

Lynyrd Skynyrd wraps it up

Fans sporting classic rock band T-shirts, bandannas and Confederate flags showed up to rock with Lynyrd Skynyrd for the fair finale.

CANFIELD — A charter bus full of Thiel College students stoked for Lynyrd Skynyrd rolled up to the Canfield Fair on Monday night anticipating a great rock show — and that’s just what they got.

“Skynyrd is the American dream,” said Joe Hoskowitz, 21, who was with the group of 30 from Thiel in Greenville, Pa.

“It’s Southern rock, it’s classic and it’s freedom,” Hoskowitz said.

Seeing Skynyrd at the Canfield Fair with a group of friends is a good way to end the summer, said Daniel Colangelo, 21, who was with Hoskowitz and five others from Thiel.

“I just want to see my favorite band in person,” said Rich Heltzel, 21, while nodding to his Skynyrd shirt.

Until the show started the crew from Thiel enjoyed the other delights the fair had to offer, but was simply there for good live music.

And promptly at 8 p.m. the live show kicked off with Lynyrd Skynyrd storming out to ACDC’s “Thunderstruck” and the fans were on their feet instantaneously.

The grandstands at the fairgrounds seat 8,000 and George Roman, fair board member and director of entertainment, said the stands were packed with more than 7,000.

For some it was their first time seeing the classic country rock legends and others were no stranger a show by Skynyrd.

“They are the greatest band in the universe,” said Phil Severyn, 27, of Akron, who had seen the band four times before.

Severyn and his three buddies were looking forward to hearing “Freebird” and taking in their first Canfield Fair experience.

A younger fan was more looking forward to “Sweet Home Alabama” and experiencing his first concert ever.

Ryan Stacy, 15, of Springfield Township said his grandmother was related to the original Skynyrd bass player, Leon Wilkeson, and he and his friend Austin Hostetter, 14, were eagerly awaiting the show all week.

Both Stacy and Hostetter agreed they preferred the Skynyrd version of “Sweet Home Alabama” to Kid Rock’s latest cover called “All Summer Long.”

Skynyrd opened their set with “What’s your name?” and had the crowd interacting from the get-go. Audience members were singing along, waving flags and saluting the band with cheers and applause.

The two most notable hits, “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Freebird,” weren’t performed till the end, but the audience was still on its feet and showed appreciation by getting louder.

The Haas family of Warren hoped they would hear the version of “Freebird” that lasts more than 10 minutes and Skynyrd didn’t disappoint them.

“Freebird” was the finale to the show, which was the finale to the 162nd Canfield Fair.

“They always put on a nice show,” said Bob Haas while standing with his wife, Denise, and daughter, Ashley.

“It’s good old-fashioned country rock,” Haas said.