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Show lineup better than fair

By Dan Craft
dcraft@pantagraph.com

SPRINGFIELD -- Amy Bliefnick, who manages the Illinois State Fair, knows that putting together the fair's entertainment centerpiece is a key part of her job.

That centerpiece, the nightly grandstand lineup, is a fair (pun intended) barometer of which way the winds of popular music taste are blowing.

For the 2007 roster, Bliefnick points to the fact that three of the seven nights with entertainment are devoted to country.

But not, she adds, just straight-ahead country for three nights running.

"Country acts sell very well in Central Illinois," says Bliefnick, "but we decided we'd try and get diverse country artists this year. In the old days, it would have been Willie Nelson-style country."

Pure and simple.

Referring to Nelson's grandstand show reign during the era of his close friendship with Gov. Jim Thompson, she notes that "nowadays country is so diverse, and this year's lineup is about as diverse as you can get."

For example, she notes, the grandstand lineup kicks off Friday night with headliner Gretchen Wilson, "who's more of a rock country singer."

The second country night (Aug. 17), featuring the grandstand's top-priced act, Martina McBride, "is pure classic country."

Winding up the series on Aug. 19 is the duo Sugarland, "who are more country-pop."

"I think society has changed, and also its love of country music has changed," says Bliefnick. "It used to be a certain segment of the populace, but now it's all ages and demographics. These acts reflect that."

But three country nights do not a week-long grandstand showcase make, agrees Bliefnick.

In fact, one of the first acts she began actively pursuing earlier this year was American Idol finalist Chris Daughtry's self-named rock band, Daughtry.

The singer, who placed fourth during "Idol's" 2006 season, proved his "extreme popularity" when fans raised holy heck over his fourth-place finish. "So we went after him."

And with good reason: At last year's fair, "Idol" alumna Carrie Underwood gave the grandstand "a huge show." This year, Daughtry is following suit, already having (as of presstime) sold more than 10,000 of the 14,500-seat venues seats.

"We expect a sell-out," Bliefnick adds.

Also pumping up ticket sales was another show with its roots deep in television success: Saturday night's tween-pop triple-header featuring "High School Musical" alum Corbin Bleu, Nickelodeon regular Drake Bell (of "Drake and Josh" fame) and Bleu's fellow Disney Channel spawn, Jordan Pruitt.

This year, Bliefnick said, the timing seemed right to tap the tween-pop market. Past experiments at going after niche demographics during her three-year reign as fair manager have included Velvet Revolver in 2004 ("a more hard-edged rock band than we usually book") and hip-hop singer Bow Wow last summer ("a more urban sound").

This year, "I thought, try a Disney-type act to see how that would go."

It has gone very, very well, due in part, no doubt, to Bleu's role in the ongoing phenomenon that is "Disney's High School Musical."

"We were lucky to get the mix we got," Bliefnick added, per the added Nickelodeon power of the popular Bell and opening act Pruitt's own Disney Channel heritage ("Jump In!").

Along with Daughtry, the threesome is one of the grandstand's top sellers.

For the significant baby boomer demographic, the fair usually tries to bring in at least one classic rock act. This year that honor goes to Eagles alumnus Joe Walsh, whose cache as a member of that band is upped by his own solo career and string of hits.

Throw in opening act Grand Funk Railroad, featuring three of its four original members (minus lead singer Mark Farner), and you've got the kind of night that will draw well along broad age lines.

"It's important that we have an act like this every year," Bliefnick says. "But it's sometimes the most difficult to book."

Hence, the Walsh-Grand Funk show being the last grandstand hole to be filled, long after the rest of the lineup was unveiled.

The trick in booking retro acts, she notes, is finding acts with a sufficient number of original members and/or priced within the fair's budget.

A number of the remaining '60s-'70s acts who are still intact are able to charge well beyond the fair's means, Bliefnick says.

The secret is to find someone like Walsh, a solo act with a strong fan base, who can be had reasonably, hence the Aug. 18 show's bargain-basement $22 admission.

At the other end of the ticket price spectrum is Martina McBride, whose $35 seats (with $25 and $30 options) are the highest this year.

As an A-list country star, McBride's ample fan base justifies that price, which, says Bliefnick, is still a bargain, compared to what they might be at an indoor venue.

Finally, the Illinois State Fair Grandstand still harvests a chunk of its business from fairgoers who don't make a decision about attending a show until they walk through the gate.

Though Bliefnick still recommends purchasing advance tickets to get the best seats, "we still love our walk-ins."

Grandstanding

Following is the lineup for this year's Illinois State Fair Grandstand, which opens with the fair on Friday and continues nightly through the fair's end Aug. 19. The box office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Phone orders can be placed via Ticketmaster at (800) 827-8927 or online via Ticketmaster.com. Mail orders can be made to the Illinois State Fair Ticket Office, P.O. Box 19427, Springfield, IL. 62794-9427.

All grandstand events begin at 8 p.m.; each concludes with a fireworks display.

• Friday: Country singers Gretchen Wilson and Blaine Larsen, $20 to $30

• Saturday: Teen-friendly pop singers with Disney Channel and/or Nickelodeon roots, Corbin Bleu, Drake Bell and Jordan Pruitt, $20

• Sunday: Rock band Daughtry, led by "American Idol" finalist Chris Daughtry, $27 to $30

• Monday: The traditional free concert by B-N and Springfield's own Illinois Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Karen Lynne Deal

• Tuesday: Evening Harness Racing, free

• Wednesday: Evening Harness Racing, free

• Aug. 16: Evening Harness Racing, free

• Aug. 17: Country singers Martina McBride and Carolyn Dawn Johnson, $25 to $35

• Aug. 18: Rock veterans Joe Walsh and Grand Funk Railroad, $22

• Aug. 19: Country duo Sugarland and country singer Joe Nichols, $22

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Rock band Daughtry, whose debut album was a chart-topper, take over the Illinois State Fair Grandstand at 8 p.m. Sunday.

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