Gramm, Casting Crowns highlight fair entertainment
Original Foreigner lead singer Lou Gramm and Christian rockers Casting Crowns headline the list of entertainers performing on the grandstand stage at the 174th Wayne County Fair, which will run Sept. 9-14 at the fairgrounds in Wooster.
Things will kick off on stage on Sunday, Sept. 10 when Tracy Lawrence performs. Tickets are $25 for track seats, $23 for patio chairs or bleachers, and $20 for the grandstand.
Lawrence is a successful country artist with a career dating more than three decades. He will focus on his music from the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s.
The following night, Casting Crowns will take the stage. Track seats are $37, patio chairs and bleachers are $32, and grandstand seats are $27.
Casting Crowns is a contemporary Christian rock band from Daytona Beach, Florida. The band has had six top 10 appearances on Billboard’s top 200 albums chart including a pair of trips to No. 2.
“We started Christian artists three years ago, and that proved to be very popular, so much that we had not seen that much interest and attendance in several years,” fair spokesman Matt Martin said of the inclusion of a Christian band.
Gramm, perhaps the biggest name ever to play at the fair, based on past commercial success, will play Tuesday, Sept. 12. With his band, The Lou Gramm All-Stars, he will perform a combination of Foreigner songs and solo material, all from Gramm’s heyday of 1977-90.
Tickets for Gramm’s performance are $30 for track seats, $25 for patio chairs and bleachers, and $20 for grandstand tickets.
Gramm and Foreigner combined to produce one of the most successful acts from the band’s inception in 1977 until the mid-1980s, when the band produced its only No. 1 hit, "I Want To Know What Love Is," off the "Agent Provocateur" album in 1985.
“There’s a pile of them that are a lot of fun,” Gramm said of performing his old hits. “There’s a lot of them. I like 'Hot Blooded.' I like 'Juke Box Hero.' I enjoy doing 'Cold As Ice.'”
Gramm had two solo albums shortly after that and played sparingly with Foreigner before parting ways for good in 2003. The singer and the current iteration of the group have played together a handful of times since 2000 but have no plans to reunite, as Foreigner plays what it bills its final tour.
“I think people who have not come to the fair in recent years may come back to attend one of these shows,” Martin said. “And in doing so, (they) will be reminded of how much they missed coming and want to come back again perhaps the next night. Our memories and nostalgia are so precious as we go through life. I do believe many will enjoy coming out all three nights of music.”
All performances are at 8 p.m. Doors will open each night at 7 p.m. Tickets for all performances are available at www.etix.com, which can be accessed via www.waynecountyfair.com/grandstand-entertainment.
For groups of more than 10 or accessible seating, call the Wayne County Fair ticket office at 330-262-8001.
