Fairgoers share their favorite Kern County Fair concert
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — 17 News has talked about the Kern County food and fashion. But what really brings the people to the fair?
The concerts.
As good as that dish of deep-fried Oreo cookies might be, it’s not likely to conjure up fond memories in your twilight years.
Now, live music is another story.
Businesses are booming while getting you ready for the Kern County Fair
Music stays with us in ways other things can’t, and concerts especially have a way of leaving a mark on our brains.
17’s Robert Price conducted a little survey this month, by way of social media and in person at the fair, asking people: Which live show at the Kern County Fair over the years was your favorite?
I got a lot of different answers, representing a lot of genres. Pop country, classic country, R-and-B, soul, folk, reggae, ska, Christian rock – but the type of music mentioned most often was classic rock.
Here’s your top five:
Number 5 – Weird Al, whose show blew people away with its props and backup singers.
Number 4 – Tower of Power. Incredible horns, incredible staying power through the decades.
Number 3 – Cheap Trick. They want us to want them, and we do.
Number 2 – The Beach Boys. Talk about staying power. One person commented online. I didn’t even think I liked the Beach Boys – and I loved it.
The number 1 most mentioned Kern County Fair concert performers – Blue Oyster Cult, those heavy metal pioneers who urged us not to fear the reaper.
Did that SNL skit More Cowbell help their careers? It sure didn’t hurt.
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In all, the 150 survey respondents mentioned 80 different acts. Was it unscientific? Oh yeah.
Only one person mentioned what was possibly the most historically significant Kern County Fair concert ever, Dwight Yoakam, 1987, when he brought Buck Owens up on stage to sing Streets of Bakersfield.
But then, so many many years ago, so many great shows since that time.
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