For 11 days in September, visitors to the 1991 Utah State Fair will have a full menu of celebrity entertainers to choose from, including some of the biggest names in pop and country music and - for the first time - one day devoted entirely to Utah performers.
The big-name grandstand shows will include Ricky Skaggs, the Bellamy Brothers, Lionel Cartwright, Mary-Chapin Carpenter, Kathy Mattea, Vince Gill, Travis Tritt, Patty Loveless, Baillie and the Boys and Restless Heart.On Thursday, Sept. 12, the grandstand will spotlight Utah talent (and all of these performances will be free of charge). These acts, with continuous performances all day long, will include Rocky Mountain Thunder (composed of two members of the former SunShade and Rain), the Salt Lake Good Time Jazz Band, the Saliva Sisters, Paul Brewer's Magic Show, the Corn Chuckers and hypnotist Vandermeid.
As in years past, entertainment for the state fair has been arranged and booked by Eugene Jelesnik, the fair's entertainment director/
producer.
Jackie Nokes, the fair's manager and director, said, "Fairgoers this year will experience new and innovative pavilions never seen before."
In addition to the grandstand shows, there will be two free entertainment stages on the grounds to provide continuous local attractions as well as midway entertainment, all free to the public.
Admission to the big-name star attractions in the grandstand (except for the one free Utah talent day) is $10 for reserved seats and $7 for general admission. Tickets to any of the 10 evenings of grandstand celebrity shows include admission to the Fairparkas well.
Fair admission (but not to the shows) is $4 for adults and $2 for children 6-16 or senior citizens 62 and over. Children 5 and under are admitted free.
Tickets to the celebrity attractions are now available by mail order, at the Utah State Fair box office or at all Smith'sTix outlets.
To order tickets by mail write to: Utah State Fair 155 N. 1000 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84118.
Or call 538-8440.
Dates for grandstand shows are:
- Thursday, Sept. 5: Ricky Skaggs
- Friday, Sept. 6: The Bellamy Brothers
- Saturday, Sept. 7: Lionel Cartwright
- Sunday, Sept. 8: Mary-Chapin Carpenter
- Monday, Sept. 9: Kathy Mattea
- Tuesday, Sept. 10: Vince Gill
- Wednesday, Sept. 11: Patty Loveless
- Thursday, Sept. 12: Family Day (free Utah talent)
- Friday, Sept. 13: Travis Tritt
- Saturday, Sept. 14: Baillie and the Boys
- Sunday, Sept. 15: Restless Heart
All weekday and Saturday performances are at 6:30 and 9:15 p.m., with Sunday performances at 6 and 8:30 p.m.
All artists bring their own bands, backup singers and full sound and lighting equipment.
Ricky Skaggs' latest album is "Kentucky Thunder," a collection of tunes that are true in theme, image and melody to his eastern Kentucky upbringing. It's been described as "an aural and emotional workout."
Through more than a decade of hit country songs, The Bellamy Brothers have become famous for incorporating many different styles of music into their songs and for writing - often humorously - about situations far outside the realm of traditional country music subject matter. But their newest album, "Reality Check," deals, for the most part, with a place everybody's been - in love.
The last time Lionel Cartwright performed in Salt Lake City it was for a Days of '47 celebration at Lagoon, where the power went out and he and his band had to perform songs much like bands did back in the '30s - with no PA system.
But unusual things seem to happen a lot to Cartwright when he's on tour - from allergies inflamed by ragweed in Iowa, to falling through a hole in the stage in Minneapolis to a woman shooting her husband in the audience during one West Virginia gig.
His newest hit is "I Watched It All on My Radio."
Like her unusual first name, Mary-Chapin Carpenter and her music are both hyphenated. While she's reluctant to be pigeonholed in one particular musical category, she says, "I'm most comfortable saying I play acoustic guitar - and I front a rock 'n' roll band." The latest album from the Academy of Country Music's "top new female artist" of the year is "Shooting Straight in the Dark," for which she wrote 10 of the 11 songs.
"When Kathy Mattea left West Virginia in 1978 to become a country singer," according to an article last year in The Boston Herald, "her friends bet on the number of weeks it would take before she'd quit and come running home. Nobody won."
Well, nobody except Mattea, who has been collecting trophies (the Academy of Country Music's "female vocalist of the year") and producing a batch of chart-busting singles and albums.
Long recognized by his peers as one of the most gifted and talented individuals in the music business, Vince Gill is a triple threat - a crystalline tenor voice, a knack for writing catchy tunes and a virtuoso guitarist.
One of the freshest, most authentic and exciting new arrivals on the country music scene, Travis Tritt champions the new energy in country music. His debut album, "Country Club," marked Tritt as one of the major discoveries of the '90s.
In the mid-80s, country music took a turn back to basics, which led Patty Loveless back to Nashville. Now, Loveless is the one doing the leading. Her latest album, "Honky Tonk Angel," yielded five hit singles. She sings simple, straightforward songs with no frills and no tricks, but with a deep emotional intensity.
Since their 1987 debut on RCA records, Kathie Baillie and Michael Bonagura of Baillie and the Boys have emerged as one of the most original and provocative harmony duets on the Nashville music scene. Their vibrant style is rooted in musical forms as diverse as country, folk, early rock and streetcorner doo-wop.
When Restless Heart came together in 1984, they were five men deeply committed to making music their way. It was a gamble, but today Restless Heart is one of country music's top-selling acts. Lead guitarist Greg Jennings says of their name's significance, "We were restless with the way country music was when we came together. We were searching for something, we still are. We knew we wanted something different, to stretch the boundaries a little bit."