Clay Walker plays favorites at fair

Clay Walker took the stage amid streamer cannons and the warm swing of "Live, Laugh, Love" on the grandstand Saturday night at the SEMO District Fair.

"This is gonna be a great night; I can feel it," Walker said, wearing boots, jeans and a Stetson hat, looking every inch the Beaumont, Texas, cowboy. "We're expecting the crowd to get really rowdy tonight."

He was right. By the second song, the crowd was on their feet, singing along to "If I Could Make a Livin' Out of Loving You."

Walker has chalked up 11 No. 1 hits over his career, and the night's set list included most of the fan favorites. For fans of '90s country radio, it sounded like somewhat of a greatest-hits roundup.

"I want everyone to leave here at around midnight tonight saying, 'They played my favorite song,'" Walker told the audience in his velvety drawl.

His voice was one of the reasons Walker has become known for bringing an entertaining live shows, especially with female fans.

"He's got that voice that just melts you," Cape Girardeau resident Heidi Schiwitz said. "And that dark hair. I like his '90s country sound better than the music that's out today."

A fan since her years in junior high, Schiwitz saw Walker when he played in Branson, Missouri, years ago and said the energy of his shows is easy to get swept up in.

"I'm not usually one to scream at concerts," she said. "But I was screaming."

Schiwitz said she also likes his new material as well, and though the show was heavy on the hits -- Walker even played "Live Until I Die," which he wrote when he was in high school -- they also played a number of songs from Walker's forthcoming album. The crowd especially seemed to enjoy "Long Live the Cowboy."

But that was nothing compared to the holler that went up at the first strains of "She Won't be Lonely Long."

Cape Girardeau resident Toni Arnold said she attends the fair's concerts most years, but was excited to hear Walker.

"I like country music," she said. "And he's got that different voice. It's real smooth."

To further engage the crowd, Walker made some of the songs personal.

"Rumor has it, Missouri loves me, too," he sang while playing his 1996 hit "Rumor Has It."

Between Walker's cowpoke charisma and his rock-solid backing band, the show was a treat for fans, and it's not likely many went home thinking "They didn't play my favorite."

tgraef@semissourian.com