The Band Perry wows Canfield Fair crowd

By JORDYN GRZELEWSKI

jgrzelewski@vindy.com

CANFIELD

Best known for their song “If I Die Young,” country music group The Band Perry won over one fairgoer with the emotional ballad.

Chelsey Mason, 24, of Struthers stood in line Thursday afternoon at the Canfield Fair box office to get a ticket to see the group later that night. She was there with her self-described “bestie,” Shalee Titus, 24, of Hubbard.

“I’m the bigger fan. I didn’t think I was going to be able to come tonight!” Mason said.

She first started listening to the group, she says, when her cousin’s fiance died. “If I Die Young” was something that Mason and her cousin both listened to afterward.

The song describes – as you might guess – the death of a young person, with refrains such as “the sharp knife of a short life.”

“That’s my favorite song,” she said.

That’s the only song Titus was a fan of, but she was happy to be attending the concert with her best friend.

The Band Perry – composed of siblings Kimberly, Reid and Neil Perry – rocked the grandstand after opening act Caroline Kole – also a country music artist – performed.

Both acts took to Twitter in reference to the Canfield Fair.

The Band Perry tweeted, “I have to go get ready for the show,” and Caroline Kole enthusiastically tweeted in all capital letters, “On our way to our first stop this week/weekend! @CanfieldFair with @thebandperry tomorrow night y’all!!!!!”

George Roman III, who is in charge of advertising and grandstand attractions for the fair, expected similar levels of enthusiasm from those who attended the concert. He said he expected solid attendance, somewhere in the range of 4,000 to 5,000 people. The grandstand seats about 8,000, including track seats.

“They’re a top-notch group,” he said of The Band Perry. “They’re nationally known. A lot of young people know them.”

Canfield Fair promoters work throughout the year to secure big-name groups like them, he said. What helped them this year, he thinks, is that the fair for the first time had its big concerts Wednesday and Thursday, instead of Sunday and Monday. The Happy Together Tour, with headliners The Turtles, played Wednesday night.

“The dates are more easily booked during the week than during the weekend,” Roman explained.

Other grandstand attractions at the fair are: the World’s Largest Demolition Derby at 8 p.m. Saturday, Christian music group MercyMe on Sunday, and more.

For tickets, visit the box office at the grandstand or www.canfieldfair.com.