By Dave Parsons
30 years ago, almost every county fair in America had a stage somewhere among the candy apples, midway rides and exhibit halls. The stage may be a flatbed trailer, pulled onto the track in front of the grandstand, after the demo derby. Or, it might be a slab of concrete poured sometime in the 1980’s, or an extra exhibit barn that was converted for nightly entertainment reasons. The cost of touring acts, coupled with shrinking budgets and attendance numbers makes it rare to find a fair that still has concerts as a main feature, but the Fayette County Fair, in Dunbar, Pa is an exception.
About 80 minutes from Pittsburgh, and 45 minutes from Morgantown, WV, the Fayette Country Fair packs them in from miles around. When you add an above average midway of rides, a lot of good home cooking, in addition to the usual food wagons, and top-notch country entertainment, to use a phrase…it’s worth the drive.
The 2024 edition of the Fayette County Fair featured country star Priscilla Block. Block is more than your usual up and coming country star, having spent a large chunk of 2024 headlining and selling out smaller theaters, and taking the stage to thousands of folks at festivals all over the country. Her ‘Block Party’ legion of fans started to fill in the converted exhibit barn hours before she took the stage.
The all-day rain in the area, and the resulting high humidity, didn’t damper the enthusiasm of the crowd by the time Block took the stage. Dressed in black daisy duke cutoffs, white crop T shirt and her trademark big hair piled on top of her head, Block came on stage with a black solo cup singing her hit My Bar, and the ‘Block Party’ was on.
Block led her the crowd through all the stages of her career. From her latest single, Good On You, to the autobiographical Peaked In High School, one of the first songs to get her attention during the pandemic years, the crowd sang every word with her and when she laid out, they sang them for her.
With half the crowd on bleachers against the walls of the structure, a crowd about 1,000 deep standing in front of the stage, and the sights, screams and smells of the fair right outside the doors 50 feet away, Block explained the heartbreak that led to songs like Me Pt. 2, and interjected stories between nearly every song. Some of the anecdotes were not the usual stage patter that you come to expect, but personal accounts that had to have happened to her. It made for more of a small theater vibe than an outdoor county fair.
Heading for the finish line, her pseudo anthem of Thick Thighs gave the crowd the last shot of energy before launching into the radio hits You, Me and Whiskey and Just About Over You. Block is a fast-rising force to be dealt with in country music, from her songwriting, to her performances, to her trademark looks. The quote on her T shirt said, Stop Copying Me, You’re Not Even Doing It Right….There is little chance of anyone copying her at all. She is the total package that country music desperately needs right now.
Opening the show for Block was regional favorite Steve Smith. Smith is a multi-instrumentalist singer who is just at home playing solo, as he is with his band. Accompanied by a second guitarist at the fair, Smith led the crowd through several covers of classic country songs, as well as a few songs off his own independent CD releases.
There were more than a few pieces of Steve Smith merch in the crowd, and the crowd had obviously been entertained by him on multiple occasions as he said hello to several long-time fans who were close to the barricade. Some of the highlights of his set included a rowdy version of Country Roads, followed by a must-see version of Dueling Banjos. For only two guys without a drummer, the performance was flawless. A quick YouTube search will give you the chance to see it for yourself.
If you like traditional classic country music, do yourself a favor and catch Steve Smith if you see he is coming to your area.
Photo Gallery : Priscilla Block – Fayette County Fair (08.03.2024)
Photo Gallery : Steve Smith – Fayette County Fair (08.03.2024)
