STATLERS, MURPHY ON TAP AT THE FAIR

Buffalo Club, Sweethearts of the Rodeo, Statler Brothers

The Statler Brothers and David Lee Murphy are two of six country acts who will entertain at the 142nd annual SEMO District Fair, the board announced today.

The week-long event will run from Sunday, Sept. 7, through Saturday, Sept. 13, at Arena Park. Tickets for the grandstand shows will go on sale July 23.

On Thursday night of the fair, the new country band Buffalo Club and female country songwriter-singer Mila Mason will preform at the 4,500-seat Arena Park grandstand.

In March, the Buffalo Club's first album went to the Top Ten in less than two months. Mason, who is from Dawson Springs, Ky., has just released her first album.

On Friday of fair week, the Grammy award-winning Statler Brothers and the country duo Sweethearts of the Rodeo will perform. The Statler brothers, who have won over 500 awards in their career, will take the stage with Sweetheart sisters Janis Gill and Kristine Arnold.

Saturday country performers David Lee Murphy and David Kersh will conclude the performances on Saturday night.

Kersh, who has made the Texas dance hall circuit, has shared the stage with Tracy Lawrence and other well-known stars. Murphy, from Herrin, Ill., received recognition when his song "Party Crowd" was named the most played record in 1995 by Radio and Records magazine.

Pete Poe, president of the SEMO Fair Board, said he and the board are pleased with this year's fair entertainment.

"We shopped around for the best entertainment we could offer," he said. "We looked at Billboard magazine, entertainment publications and used the Internet to compare what is currently going on the country music entertainment industry today."

Poe said the fair board has worked toward getting the Statler Brothers for three years.

"We have been working with them for three years in order to find a suitable date to match their travel itinerary," he said. "It all finally came together for us this year."

Poe said he wanted to mesh other good talent for a well rounded fair entertainment package.

"We put together feasible fair entertainment that we felt folks would want to see," he said.

Along with the ticketed entertainment, Poe said the 1997 fair will feature free attractions all week.

Among these, here for the second year will be a big top circus to be located at the south end of the fairgrounds. A fair first will be competitions in the R&R tent by the Central State Wrestling Alliance.