Allamakee County Fair grandstand entertainment mixes new country with a bit of familiarity

The 160th Allamakee County Fair will present a mix of new country with some old familiarity when this year's grandstand musical entertainment hits the stage during the annual event, July 17-21. Texas-based country music newcomer JT Hodges and rockin' country conglomerate The New Black 7, featuring Waukon native Jason Herman on guitar, will be the musical acts headlining this year's grandstand entertainment Thursday, July 18, beginning at 7 p.m.

THE NEW BLACK 7
Waukon High School 1994 graduate Jason Herman will return to his native hometown of Waukon for a performance with his latest musical interest, "The New Black 7". Combining his own guitar talents with lead vocalist and guitar player Tory Stoffregen and Brentt Arcement on drums and percussion, Herman joined with "The New Black 7" after sitting in on a jam session with Stoffregen in 2011.
Described as "an intoxicating dose of country music with a shot of 90 proof rock & roll added for good measure," the new trio released its debut album "Hangovers & Heartbreak" in January of this year. The album was recorded right here in Iowa at Chandler Limited Studios in Shell Rock and includes such songs as “Crazy All Over Me”, “That Don’t Sound Like Country”, and “Closing Time”, in addition to the group's own version of the Motley Crue classic “Kickstart My Heart".

JT HODGES
JT Hodges was born and raised in Fort Worth, TX, growing up in a family where both parents were involved in music. Following in their footsteps, he eventually signed with Show Dog-Universal Music in 2011 and released his debut single, “Hunt You Down.” Hodges co-wrote nine of the 11 songs on his self-titled debut album, which included such chart hits as “Goodbyes Made You Mine” and “Sleepy Little Town.” He also toured with Toby Keith in 2011 on Keith's "Locked and Loaded Tour."

MORE GRANDSTAND
In addition to that musical entertainment, local competitors will also get the opportunity to perform in front of fair-goers again this year in each of the other four grandstand events planned for this year's fair. Local truck and tractor enthusiasts will put the power of their machines on display in the Wednesday, July 17 Truck and Tractor Pull, with the Friday, July 19 Motokazie and Sunday, July 21 Tough Truck Contest also providing locals a chance to thrill the crowd in competition on two and four wheels.
Returning to the grandstand entertainment line-up this year is Tuff-N-Nuff Rodeo Association sanctioned competition Saturday, July 20. The event will feature the thrills and spills of bull riding competition in both the unique, small-but-mighty format provided by miniature bulls in addition to the thunderous antics of full-size bulls also in action, as well as barrel racing and wild pony racing for kids 12 and under.

ADVANCE TICKET SALES NOW ONLINE
The ability to purchase grandstand tickets online, introduced for last year's Allamakee County Fair grandstand attractions, returns for this season's performances as well. The fair's webpage, www.allamakeecountyfair.org, has a "Buy Tickets Now" button link (pictured below) that will take online purchasers through a check-out process using Google Checkout® or PayPal®. Tickets for the grandstand events can be purchased for all five evenings of grandstand entertainment at this year's fair, or for just a single event. Those tickets can either be mailed to the purchaser or picked up at the "will call" window at the grandstand.
Advance tickets for grandstand events can also be purchased in Waukon at the Allamakee County ISU Extension and Outreach office, Waukon State Bank, Farmers & Merchants Savings Bank, Fidelity Bank, Village Farm & Home and Clark Tire Center.
Additional information about this year's fair will be published in a future edition of The Standard as fair time approaches or can be found at the fair's website, www.allamakeecountyfair.org.