CLEARFIELD – Those looking for great music, tasty food, and family fun should look no further that the 149th Clearfield County Fair! This year’s grandstand lineup is star-studded with Alice Cooper on Tuesday, Aug. 4; Dierks Bentley & Julianne Hough on Wednesday, Aug. 5; Ratt & Marky Ramone’s Blitzkreig on Friday, Aug. 7; and closing out the fair on Aug. 8 is Eric Hutchinson and America’s first idol, Kelly Clarkson.
Alice Cooper is bringing his own brand of rock psycho-drama to fans both old and new. The iconic hard rocker, who literally invented the concept of the rock concert as theater, returns to what he does best on Along Came a Spider (SPV Records), the 25th studio album of a long and illustrious career which began in 1969 with the release of Pretties for You on Frank Zappa’s Straight label. Known as the architect of shock-rock, Alice (in both the original Alice Cooper band and as a solo artist) has rattled the cages and undermined the authority of generations of guardians of the status quo, continuing to surprise fans and exude danger at every turn, like a great horror movie, even in an era where CNN can present real life shocking images.
Not so many years ago, Dierks Bentley was singing for tips in Second Avenue bars and soaking up country music history at his day job working in the video tape library of the late, great Nashville Network. Today he’s among the most successful and relevant country singers in the business. Critics find him credible. Fans pack his shows. There are precious few new artists recording hits today about whom that can be said. After spending more than two years writing, road testing and recording new material, Bentley is ready for the next phase: the Feb. 3 release of Feel That Fire, a 12-song serving of rockers and ballads with a dash of honky tonk and bluegrass. On Aug. 5, Dierks Bentley will strike a match and invite fans to Feel That Fire at the 149th Clearfield County Fair.
A triple threat as a singer, actress and dancer, Julianne Hough (pronounced “Huff”) is already known to millions of fans as the two-time professional dance champion on ABC-TV’s top-rated Dancing with the Stars (DWTS). The show, which pairs professional dancers with music, sports, film and television celebrities, has become a cultural phenomenon and Julianne its top star. Julianne’s debut disc reveals her appreciation for country music’s roots as well as her fresh-faced contributions to the genre’s future. She has a warm, textured voice that is equally suited to feisty up-tempo tunes and contemplative ballads, both of which can be found on her debut. The debut single, “That Song In My Head,” is a buoyant effort that is incredibly infectious. The song captures the rapturous joy of a burgeoning relationship and celebrates the way a song can become the soundtrack for those emotions. Julianne’s voice perfectly conveys the sense of delicious expectation in the lyric. Julianne was named ACM’s Top New Female Artist at the 2009 ACM Awards.
The return of “Ratt ’n’ Roll” – the band’s motto – became a reality earlier this year when founding members – vocalist Stephen Pearcy, guitarist Warren DeMartini and drummer Bobby Blotzer – launched a summer tour, their first together in eight years. Ratt has sold more than 16 million albums worldwide and established itself as one of the most popular groups of the 1980s. Out Of The Cellar sold more than three million copies and rocketed into Billboard’s Top Ten on the strength of its first single, “Round And Round.” Peaking at #12 on Billboard’s Singles chart, the track was the first in a long line of hit songs and videos that made Ratt a fixture on the radio and MTV as well as a major live act playing to sold-out crowds across the nation.
Ratt’s uninterrupted streak of platinum records continued a year later with Invasion Of Your Privacy, its second Top 10 album, followed by 1986’s Dancing Undercover and 1988’s Reach For The Sky. After scoring nine Top 40 Album Rock tracks and two Top 40 hits in the ’80s, the band started a new decade with the 1990 release of Detonator, the band’s fifth album and a certified-gold hit.
Marc Bell (a.k.a Marky Ramone) is best known for the 15 years he spent drumming for the legendary Ramones. In the spring of 1978, Marc Bell became Marky Ramone. In less than a month, Marky was in the studio recording his first album with the Ramones entitled, “Road to Ruin”, Featuring one of the biggest Ramones songs “I Wanna Be Sedated”. The following year, the Ramones filmed the Roger Korman cult classic “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School”. Later that same year, the Ramones recorded with legendary producer, Phil Spector and delivered the album “End Of The Century”. In 1983, after numerous world tours and a two more studio albums, Pleasant Dreams (1981) and Subterranean Jungle (1982), Marky was asked to leave the band, only to rejoin his band mates in 1987 until they retired in 1996. His tenure with the Ramones spanned a total of 15 years and more than 15 releases, including songwriting credits on both Mondo Bizarro (1992) and the bands farewell release, Adios Amigos (1996). In 2000, Marky reunited with long time friend Joey Ramone for Joey’s solo effort “Don’t Worry About Me”. In 2001 the Ramones were the first punk band to be inducted into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame. Currently, Marky shows no signs of slowing down as he continues to tour the world with his new band, Marky Ramones Blitzkreig, with Michale Graves (ex-Misfits, vocals), Alex Kane (guitar), Clare B (bass).
Eric Hutchinson looks like the kind of guy you can trust – honest, approachable, somehow familiar. There’s just something about him that invites you to give up your innermost thoughts. And complete strangers don’t hesitate to do so, as he wryly details in “Oh!” “Oh” is one of 10 keenly observed songs from Hutchinson’s self-released debut album, Sounds Like This. The CD, which showcases the young singer-songwriter’s unique brand of soul, bowed at #1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart in September 2007. Sounds Like This was released on Hutchinson’s own label, Let’s Break Records, at the end of August 2007. Overnight it was breaking records. Eric’s album was ensconced in iTunes’ Top 10 alongside the latest releases from Kanye West and Dave Matthews. It peaked at #5 on the iTunes album chart, becoming the highest-charting album by an unsigned act in iTunes history. No small accomplishment for a record that almost didn’t get made. Although he’s been favorably compared to his early idols (Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Paul Simon), one of the most remarkable things about Sounds Like This is the sheer breadth of musical styles Hutchinson effortlessly encompasses.
Texas-born Kelly Clarkson has lived a wild ride. She was, of course, catapulted into the spotlight in 2002 as the very first American Idol winner. Her superstardom was secured with Breakaway in 2005. That album sold over ten million copies, spun off five Top Ten hits, and stayed on the charts for two full years. Kelly’s 4th album, All I Ever Wanted, debuts at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 with 254,111 albums sold and #1 on the Digital Album Chart. This marks Kelly’s first #1 album since her debut in 2002 and all four of Kelly’s albums have debuted in the Top 3. With her fourth album, All I Ever Wanted, Clarkson demonstrates her eagerness to continue branching out, and to push her music in new and unexpected directions. Though she has sold over twenty million records around the world; landed eight singles in the Top Ten; and won Grammys, MTV Video Music Awards, American Music Awards, and even been nominated for a CMA Award, she maintains that she’s far more interested in challenging herself than in repeating herself.
On-Line ticket orders are tentatively slated to begin May 18 at 10:00 a.m. Visa/Mastercard is accepted. The ticket form will also be printable for those wishing to mail in their order and pay by check. Tickets are projected to be mailed out first of June. Credit cards will not be charged until the tickets are mailed. Phone orders will begin on June 17th. A separate gate admission is required for all shows. Check the official fair Web site often for updates and information on these exciting shows and much more.