Sawyer Brown, Leah Marlene headline fair

Fairbury Fair

Aug. 16-20

600 S. 3rd St.

Fairbury, Illinois

FAIRBURY, Ill. — A group that has more than 50 singles hitting the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and an American Idol finalist will headline the 147th Fairbury Fair.

Award-winning country artists Sawyer Brown headlines the fair with a performance Aug. 18.

Central Illinois-based Stone Cold Cowboys open the show that evening and will stick around for an after party performance later that evening.

Sawyer Brown was founded in 1981 in Kapok, Florida. After competing in the television competition series, Star Search, and winning the show’s grand prize, they signed to Capitol records in 1984.

The band has earned three No. 1 singles with “Step That Step,” “Some Girls Do” and “Thank God for You.”

Sawyer Brown received the Country Music Association Horizon Award in 1985 and the 1996 Academy of Country Music’s Vocal Group of the Year Award.

In addition, they also won six-straight Vocal Band of the Year honors from the TNN/Music City News Country Music Awards and three-time Video Group of the Year artists by the CMT Country Music Awards.

Leah Marlene, American Idol’s third-place finalist last year, will perform on the Fairbury Fair’s opening day, Aug. 16, with special guest Patrick Cereal, a local songwriter, singer and guitarist.

Marlene is a songwriter, artist and producer. She has a unique, engaging voice and a songwriter style that combines elements of folk rock, pop, soul, funk, jazz and more.

She grew up in Normal in a house full of music and guitars as her father, Derry Rehang, is a songwriter and lead guitarist with the Canadian band, Honeymoon Suite.

She has been performing professionally since the age of 10 and been releasing music since she was 13.

Her latest original single, “Flowers,” was released last year along with her recent albums, “Many Colors,” “The Space Between” and “Arrow.”

The fair’s midway will feature entertainment for all ages throughout the five-day event, including Conner Family Amusements, wood carving by Bear Hollow, TaDa Robots, VFW and Lions Club bingo, a petting zoo, Wild Style Designs, Unique Twist and Twisting Crew, 4-H food stand, livestock and home economics exhibits and judging, and Wheel of Agriculture.

The fairgrounds is well known throughout the Midwest for stock car racing, and admittance will be free for racing Aug. 19, beginning at 5:15 p.m. A demolition derby is on tap for Aug. 20, beginning at 1 p.m.

Details of the daily activities and times are available at www.thefairburyfair.com.