Trace Adkins headlining Chase County fair’s country show

Country music icon and legend Trace Adkins will bring back his personal brand of music to this year’s Chase County Fair on Saturday, Aug. 17. 

Early-bird discount ticket sales for the 7:30 p.m. show will begin online Feb. 7 through Feb. 28. 

Fair Entertainment Chair Alex McNair said the board is excited to sign Adkins for this year’s fair. 

Bringing back a legend like Trace Adkins serves to retrace the roots of country music that has made the Chase County Fair so successful and memorable, McNair said. 

For more than two decades, Trace Adkins has made his mark on the country-music industry. 

His first appearance at the Chase County Fair came in 2005. Since then, he’s become a legend in country music:

 11 million albums sold. Time-honored hit singles. Momentous, fiery and always memorable live performances.

 Grammy nominations. CMT and ACM awards. Nearly 200 million plays on YouTube. Even a slew of movie and TV roles for the Grand Ole Opry member. 

But what keeps Adkins popular on the country music is that he’s never lost the itch—to create; to collaborate; to inspire; to perform.

He still craves it. “It’s an adrenaline rush and I love it,” said Adkins.

With one million followers on Spotify and over one billion spins on Pandora (10 million spins per month), the longstanding country icon has yet to lose any of his trademark passion and killer instinct for his craft. 

The 57-year-old is as fired up as ever to be back on the road this year, taking his music to the fans once again. “I get a kick out of it. 

I still enjoy the camaraderie, the band of brothers, your crew and your band,” he says of a continued passion for touring. 

“I’ve gotten to the point now where I’ll be onstage singing ‘Every Light In The House Is On’ and I look down at the crowd and realize that person right there wasn’t even alive when I recorded that song.” 

He laughs. To watch their face, it’s like ‘Oh my god, that’s the first time that person ever heard that song!’ he said.

At 57, Adkins has embraced his role as the elder statesman of the genre. He’s proud to serve as an inspiration to a younger generation of country artists, much in the way he revered icons like Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard when he first moved to Nashville. 

Referring to his summer tour, Adkins said, “I’m gonna bring a band and turn it up real loud! And we’re gonna have a good time!”

Opener planed, Rock booked

McNair said the fair has made an offer to a country group to open for Adkins but nothing is confirmed yet. 

As for the rock night, he said the fair has booked the highly sought-after band Hairball for the Friday, Aug. 16 rock show. 

The band is known for their two hour-plus shows that play drop-dead accurate homage to some of the biggest arena acts in the world, like Van Halen, KISS, Motley Crue, Queen, Journey, and Aerosmith. McNair said more information on the show will be coming.