Lee Brice, Mavericks close final days of SEMO fair

The bright lights, fried food and noise of merriment ended Saturday night as the SEMO District Fair wound down after eight days of entertainment.

Pete Poe, president of the SEMO District Fair, said about 18,000 people went to the fair Friday, which featured the music act the Mavericks that night, and he hoped as many people would visit the fair during its last day, featuring a concert by Lee Brice. Total fair attendance will not be available until later in the week.

"We've had a good eight-day run of the fair," he said. Although hot weather affected attendance, locals "certainly" came out Friday and Saturday, Poe said.

Children up past their bedtime raced to rides, junior high couples held hands and walked though crowds, and fairgoers enjoyed fried food on sticks and mountains of ribbon fries at the SEMO District Fair for the last time until September 2014.

From the moment they danced onto the stage Friday, country and rock'n'roll fusion band the Mavericks had the crowd tapping its toes.

Audience members swayed and danced in the aisles as the group performed old favorites, new numbers and covers of popular country and rock songs.

Gary Vosburg came from Table Rock Lake in southwest Missouri to see his favorite band.

"I'm a huge fan," he said. "Have been since 1989."

This was Vosburg's first time seeing the group live. He said his wife discovered the band would be playing in Cape Girardeau.

He said the song he was most looking forward to hearing was "Born to Be Blue."

"It would break my heart if they didn't play it," Vosburg said.

His favorite band didn't keep him waiting for long. After kicking off the night with "Back in Your Arms Again," the band jumped into the song.

Most songs were lively, fast-paced dancing numbers, but the band took a moment mid-show to slow the tempo with a cover of "Blue Bayou."

"We like to play this song every year every time we play outside and it's a beautiful night," Mavericks lead singer Raul Malo told the audience.

Dasima Bagby, also seeing the Mavericks live for the first time, said it was one of her favorite songs of the night.

"They're very good musicians," she said. "The singer sounds great. They all do."

Another of Bagby's favorites was "What a Crying Shame," one of the Mavericks' most popular hits from 1994.

Jeremy Jackson, ticket coordinator with Ticket Fix, the company facilitating ticket sales for the SEMO District Fair, said before the show began, about 1,250 seats were filled.

"We still have a lot of reserved seats that have been purchased that haven't been filled, though," he said. "And I expect more people will buy tickets throughout the night."

Poe estimated about 2,000 people attended the Lee Brice concert Saturday night. The crowd included people of all ages who clapped, sang and shouted along to the country singer's hits.

Madalyn Gillis of Edwardsville, Ill., and Kelly Strausberger of Atlanta attend Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill. The two came to the fair to see Brice because it was "something to do." They said they looked forward to hearing Brice's hit "Hard to Love," which was his opening song of the night.

Shortly into the song, Brice paused and laughed, still strumming his guitar.

"I just forgot the words -- to my own song," he said, sliding back into the chorus.

Rick Lincoln sat in the stands with his wife, Krystal, and said he liked the "new country" by Brice and similar artists, such as Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan.

"I like his sound," he said.

Standing front row-center in a cowboy hat adorned with hundreds of signatures was Dale Lipe of Anna, Ill.

The hat features autographs from artists such as Merle Haggard, Gretchen Wilson and George Jones. Lipe has the artists sign hats when he attends their concerts. The one Lipe wore will be donated to an auction for the American Cancer Society. Lipe said once he has a couple more big names sign the hat, such as George Strait or Taylor Swift, he would consider it ready for bidding. He has been offered $10,000 for the hat.

Lipe has been having hats signed for a "long, long time," he said, and each hat goes to a different cause. He has plans for a signed cowboy hat to go toward autism research and to the American Heart Association.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

adowning@semissourian.com

388-3632

Pertinent address:

410 Kiwanis Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO