I guess there’s always a fair somewhere. Around here we have them in July, August and September… in Greeneville, Gray and Knoxville, Tenn., Abingdon, Wise and Lebanon, Va., and Maggie Valley, Cary and Charlotte, N.C., just to name a few of them. I start getting really excited about fairs sometime around the beginning of May.
But while I’m sitting here thinking about fairs in our area, other parts of the country area already well into their fair seasons. And who better than Jake Owen to take the stage at one of the spring fairs this year. Not meaning to imply that this will be Jake’s only fair this year, because it definitely won’t be. Check out Jake’s entire show schedule on his web site.
Jake will be on the stage at the Pima County Fair in Tucson, Ariz., on April 24. There was a great article in the Arizona Daily Star about Jake’s upcoming fair appearance. The article was written by Cathalena E. Burch, and you can read it in its entirety here. She talked to Jake about riding the Ferris wheel or roller coaster, his weakness for funnel cake dusted with powdered sugar, and even his hard work that he hopes will take him from opening act to headliner. And, I’m sure it will.
"A lot of those people who have me open for them did the same thing. Jason Aldean two years ago was just another guy like myself. But he had a couple big hits in a row, and now he’s headlining arenas," Owen said. "You know it could happen . . . and that’s what I have to do. Everybody’s got their times, and I’m working on mine. I want my name on the ticket; I don’t want to be an opening act for the rest of my life." (from Arizona Daily Star article)
I saw Jake at the Appalachian Fair in Gray, Tenn., and at the Washington County Fair in Abingdon, Va. The Gray fair was in 2008. I came home from that show, and wrote an article I called “Jake Owen – Singer, Entertainer, “People Person” … and I couldn’t stop talking about him. I was not only impressed with his music, but also with his stage presence, and how friendly and outgoing he was. He treated every fan there like someone he’d known all his life. If you missed that article – and all the pictures from that event, just click here. When I saw him the following summer, my opinion of him definitely remained the same.
I’ve seen first hand how hard this kid works. I know he loves what he does – that was obvious as I watched him looking at his audience, paying attention to them, and making sure that each person there knew he was there because they wanted him to be. He has a quote at the top of his bio on his web site. Back when I first read that quote, I thought “that sounds like something that Jake would say.” But while Jake didn’t say it, he certainly seems to live by it. It’s a Waylon Jennings quote that reads: "You’ve got to care about the music…You’d better not be doing it for the publicity, the fame or the money. And you’d sure better not be doing it because it’ s a way to make a living, ’cause that ain’t always going to be easy. You got to believe it, believe in the music. You got to mean it." Jake Owen definitely means it.
I’ve got to get my Friday started. You guys have super day! I’ll talk to you soon!
Country
Wow Jake Owen, I really enjoyed reading this article – it shows how down to earth he is. Some of the “star” are hard to reach and communicate with. Great article, great to have him at the fair!
Jake Owen is playing The Valarium in Knoxville this Thursday – I signed up for tickets at JDStudioNo7.com. Stoked to be seeing him again.