Umatilla County Fair & Farm City Pro Rodeo | East Oregonian & Hermiston Herald | 9
Ready, Set, Show!
Main Stage acts off er variety
By TAMMY MALGESINI
EO Media Group
A
fter a one-year hiatus because of
the global pandemic, the Uma-
tilla County Fair is preparing
to live up to its 2021 theme of Ready,
Set, Show! with its concert lineup on
the Wildhorse Resort & Casino Main
Stage.
Angie McNalley, fair director, said
all of the acts, except the Wednesday
night performer, were scheduled to play
in 2020.
The concert opener on Wednesday
at 9 p.m. is Stone In Love — Journey
Tribute. Thursday features Everclear.
A Latino Night Dance is set for Friday.
And closing out the week on Saturday is
Frankie Ballard. Also, a DJ and dancing
is available before and after the concerts
at the Barley Barn, across from the con-
cert entrance.
All seats for the Wednesday night
show are free with fair admission. Gen-
eral admission for the Thursday and
Saturday night concerts, which begin
at 9 p.m., are free with fair admission.
Reserved and premium seating (fi rst
fi ve rows) are available for $12 and $20,
respectively.
Advance tickets are non-refund-
able and do not include fair admission,
which is $11. Reserved concert tickets,
and discounted fair admission and park-
ing passes can be purchased online via
www.umatillacountyfair.net.
Friday evening’s Latino Night,
with show opener Fortaleza De Tierra
Caliente, will take the stage at 8 p.m.
McNalley said it’s a real treat to have
a trio of headlining acts performing in
Hermiston on the same night together
for the fi rst time. They include Alfa 7
at 9:10 p.m.; Diana Reyes at 10:30 p.m.
and Tierra Cali at 11:50 p.m.
Tickets purchased in advance at
Velasco Used Car Sales (80596 High-
Diana Reyes/Contributed Photo
Stone in Love/Contributed Photo
Everclear/Contributed Photo
Frankie Ballard/Contributed Photo
way 395, Hermiston) will cost $30 and
includes fair admission. Tickets pur-
chased at the gate will not include fair
admission.
Churning out the hits of Journey
for more than a dozen years, Stone In
Love off ers a high-energy performance.
Showcasing the Journey sound, the
Portland-based tribute band brings the
soaring lead vocals, signature guitar
licks and driving rhythms Journey fans
have come to love.
Fairgoers will hear such classic favor-
ites as “Don’t Stop Believin,’” “Wheel
in the Sky,” “Faithfully,” “Lovin’
Touchin’ Squeezin’ and “Any Way You
Want It.” Come prepared to see and hear
why Stone in Love is one of the Pacifi c
Northwest’s hottest tribute acts.
Formed by vocalist/guitarist Art
Alexakis in 1991 in Portland, Ever-
clear has soldiered on with a variety of
musicians. The ‘90s alt-rock band gar-
nered a Grammy nomination for Best
Rock Instrumental Performance for “El
Distorto De Melodica.” The group has
Tierra Cali/Contributed Photo
released 11 albums, including “Black is
the New Black” in 2015.
While the band hasn’t been in the
studio recently, it continues to tour,
racking up thousands of shows over the
years. According to the band’s biogra-
phy, Alexakis was particularly proud
of the band’s 40-stop tour in mid-2017
celebrating the 20th anniversary of “So
Much for the Afterglow,” the band’s
second successful release on Capitol
Records.
Frankie Ballard’s “El Rio” was
selected by Rolling Stone as one of the
25 Best Country and Americana albums
of 2016. Over the years, some of his hot
country singles have included such titles
as “Sunshine & Whiskey,” “Helluva
Life” and “Young & Crazy.”
According to his biography, the
country-blues-rocker has combined
album sales of more than 450,000 and
more than 150 million total streams
across all streaming platforms. In addi-
tion, Ballard has performed on national
TV, including on “Today,” “Live! with
Kelly’’ and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” He’s
also toured and performed with the likes
of Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Sugar-
land, and Big and Rich.