The Big Butler Fair in Butler County is taking a different tack this year, but it looks good from here. In the past couple of summers, the fair has offered a pair of country concerts a couple of days apart. For example, two years ago, Ty Herndon played on July Fourth with Montgomery Gentry taking the stage two nights later.
This year, only one country music show is scheduled, and it won't take place until the final day of the nine-day fair. But it's a doozy: Travis Tritt is the head-liner, with a he-man opening lineup consisting of Joe Diffie, Tracy Lawrence and Mark Chesnutt .
The macho musicians are appropriate — the concert, which begins at 4 p.m. July 6, will follow a rodeo event called Bullride Mania. Details: (412) 323-1919.
Another big-name act is scheduled to visit two county fairs in western Pennsylvania. Lonestar , whose popularity kicked into high gear a few years back with the hit single "Amazed," will play at the Fayette County Fair on July 27 and then return to the area a month later for the Crawford County Fair on Aug. 23. Sara Evans is also on the bill for the Crawford County concert. Details: Fayette County Fair, (724) 628-FAIR; Crawford County Fair, (814) 333-7400.
The Westmoreland Fair also has a country concert scheduled — the Oak Ridge Boys are set for 7:30 p.m. Aug. 19.Details: (724) 423-5005.
Meanwhile, the Allegheny County Parks Summer Concert series has offerings for country fans both old and new.
One of the most recent bands to emerge is Pinmonkey , whose single "Barb Wire & Roses" has been receiving radio play on WOGI (98.3). They'll perform at the South Park Amphitheater at 8 p.m. July 26; Niki Barr is the warm-up act.
Coming to Hartwood Acres in the North Hills, on the other hand, is a band that might not fit into mainstream country radio playlists but boasts a solid reputation. Asleep at the Wheel , the Western swing revivalist band led by Ray Benson, will play at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 11.
The South Park and Hartwood Acres concerts are free.
Of the other nationally known country artists slated to visit the area this summer, most will perform in Burgettstown, Washington County, but a few will play Downtown venues.
Clint Black will headline the Dollar Bank Jamboree, which is free, on July 13 in Point State Park.
The other two Downtown concerts are in clubs: The quintet BR549 returns to the Strip District on June 8 for an 8 p.m. show at Rosebud, and Billy Ray Cyrus , star of television's "Doc," will sing at Metropol at 8 p.m. Aug. 1.
The Burgettstown lineup is as follows:
CD reviews
"Abbie Neal & Her Ranch Girls"
(Lightning Strikes Music)
Abbie Neal
Singer Lou Christie set out to preserve the past — or at least 80 minutes of it — when he produced this disc. Christie, formerly of Moon Township, remembers listening to Neal on radio broadcasts out of Wheeling, W.Va., and decided to track her down. He found her, now in her 80s, living in Reno, Nev. He also found the recordings that make up this CD, including Neal's final TV show from Johnstown before taking her act to Nevada.
The disc starts out strong, with Neal and her quartet harmonizing on songs such as "Cool Water" and displaying their musicianship on instrumental numbers such as "Black Mountain Rag."
Be warned, though, that the quality of the recordings goes downhill. The static — a constant reminder that you're listening to an old-time radio show — sometimes makes the Ranch Girls sound as though they're singing underwater.
The Johnstown show, which accounts for the final 16 of the CD's 42 tracks, includes commercials, introductions and sign-offs.
The CD is available through www.louchristie.com or by calling (516) 741-0102.
"Cool Me Down"
(Curb Records)
Jenai
This debut disc does what it's supposed to — it whets the appetite.
Jenai is a young woman from Idaho who goes by one name, plays the bass, possesses a sultry, seductive voice and projects the same c'mon-and-dare-me attitude as Wynonna.
Similarities on this disc between Jenai's style of singing and Wynonna's probably have much to do with the fact that most of the tracks are co-written by producer Brent Maher, who also produced the Judds.
Jenai gamely takes a shot at Southern rock with the song "Loraine," but she excels — emotionally and vocally — on the ballads "Time to Dream" and, especially, "It Won't Be Me." Jenai doesn't misstep anywhere here; the album, overall, is an easy listen and raises expectations for what might come next.
