Bellamy Brothers headline Manatee County Fair
The Manatee County Fair is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and it's still very much a homage to the traditional and rural roots of the area. But as Manatee County has grown and changed, the fair has grown and changed with it. These days there are big-time music acts performing alongside pig races and livestock competitions.
This year, as in most years, the emphasis is on country music, and the first day brings the most well-known act in the 11 days of the fair.
The Bellamy Brothers, who hail from Pasco County and who have maintained a country career that has spanned five decades, are scheduled to kick off the fair with an opening night concert at 7:30 p.m. today.
If you know country music, you know of David and Howard Bellamy. Since the 1970s, they've had 20 No. 1 singles, and about 50 singles that have hit the charts. Among their most popular songs have been "Let Your Love Flow," "If I Said You had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me" and "Sugar Daddy." In 2014, Rolling Stone magazine included the Bellamy Brothers' "Old Hippie" on its list of the 100 greatest country songs of all time.
Country up-and-comer Mo Pitney comes to the fair the following night. Pitney's only 22, but he's already had a couple of minor hits, 2014's "Country" and last year's "Boy & A Girl Thing."
One of the few non-country bands on the fair's entertainment schedule is Hawk Nelson (Jan. 17), a Christian rock band from Canada. They're huge among Christian music fans, and they've had some mainstream success with "The One Thing I Have Left," which hit the top of VH1's Top 20 Video Countdown a decade ago. North Carolina bluegrass band Mountain Faith performs Jan. 21. They've had a solid and award-winning career, but they reached a wider audience last year when they appeared on "America's Got Talent." (According to their website, they didn't even enter; the mother of one of the members entered the competition without their knowledge.)
Country novelty singer Joe Diffie performs on Jan. 22.
Manatee County's own Billy Rice takes the county fair stage on Jan. 22.
Every day of the fair, Dennis Lee, who's made a great career out of performing at state and county fairs across the country, performs a couple of shows. Lee has a solid band and performs energetic and crowd-pleasing versions of familiar country and pop songs, combined with comedy and quick-witted stage banter.
Details: Jan. 14-24, Manatee County Fairgrounds, 1402 14th Ave. W. Palmetto. Hours: 5 p.m.-about 10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, Thursday, Noon-about 10 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Tickets: $8 adults, $7 seniors age 55 and older, $5 children 6-12 and active military, free for children age 6 and younger. Seniors $5 on Jan. 20.
Marty Clear, features writer/columnist, can be reached at 941-708-7919.
Follow twitter.com/martinclear.
This story was originally published January 13, 2016 at 6:16 PM with the headline "Bellamy Brothers headline Manatee County Fair ."