Sounds fair.
Lincoln County Fair offers massive music line-up
The New Lincoln County Fair returns to Newport this Friday through Sunday, July 1 through 3.
Classic events like the Pro Rodeo, 4-H exhibits and carnival rides will be joined by newer fare such as camel rides, La Fiesta de Latina and, across the street at Newport High School, the chance to get your kicks watching adult soccer at the Internazionale Liga de Futbol 7 Tournament.
With free admission for all, entertainment, plenty of food options and vendors, Bingo for the big kids and an OMSI interactive display for the little kids, there is plenty to do at the fair.
And for music fans, the thing that is becoming clear as the “new” fair continues year after year is that there are almost no holes in the schedule when it comes to musical entertainment.
The Newport/Oregon Coast Community Drum Circle’s Thunder & Lightness World Beat Ensemble — kicking off the Saturday music with a 90-minute set — has been a Main Stage musical mainstay at the fair since 2012. The group presents a unique multicultural blend of traditional and indigenous rhythm to audiences that are likely more accustomed to country music and classic rock and roll.
The ensemble features unique arrangements of traditional percussion song and dance rhythms from Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, the prehistoric plains of what is now the United States, the Caribbean and the South Pacific.
Traditional wooden hand drums alternate and contrast with the haunting melodies of traditional wooden Native American flutes and other harmonic instruments. Some sets include solos on the ancient log drums that ethnomusicologists say were among the first musical instruments played by man.
Chandler Davis, lead drummer, is frequently accompanied by local professional musicians and other musical guests who bring variety and authenticity to the traditional genres and styles that make up the group’s eclectic format.
Davis said this year’s show will feature the group’s principal Native American flute player Terry Filer, a member of the Osage Nation; master drummer Abdoulaye Thioub of Senegal; Lewis Smith, who presents authentic Polynesian log drum rhythms; Jazz percussionist Steven Ridley and popular local drummer/percussionist and band leader Rodney Turner.
“Thunder & Lightness may seem an odd choice for a county fair musical act,” Davis said, “but we have been performing at the fair for longer than any of this year’s musical acts and the music we play is the original source of virtually all the other music at the fair, from jazz to blues to country and rock.”
Davis also contends that the Thunder & Lightness shows can hold their own for high energy excitement and danceability and encourage audience members to bring their own hand drums and light percussion and also invite dancers of all types, ages and skill levels to join in on the large concrete apron in front of the stage.
Thunder & Lightness will be followed by two other well-known local acts: the versatile Eric Levine, whose frequent appearances at the new Luna Sea Fish House in Seal Rock throughout the past year have established him as a leading local musician, and by Greg Ernst and Jan Kaplan’s new combo, Blues Variant, well-known and respected ‘’old hands” in a new package.
Other headliners include Against the Raging Tide, Mariachi Guadalajara, Unplugged, and local rockers Six Eyes High and T.Ray and the Shades.
The fair takes place at the Lincoln County Commons, formerly the Lincoln County Fairgrounds, located at 633 NE 3rd Street, Newport.
For more information, go to TheLincolnCountyFair.com.
Full music schedule
Friday
10 to 11 am: Bruce Moore
11:30 am to 12:45 pm: Unplugged
1 to 2 pm: Heartbroken
2:30 to 4 pm: Six Eyes High
4 to 7 pm: Mariachi Guadalajara
7:30 to 9 pm: T.Ray & The Shades
Saturday
10 to 11:30 am: Thunder and Lightness
Noon to 1 pm: Eric Levine
1:30 to 3 pm: Blues Variant
3:30 to 5 pm: Against The Raging Tide
5:30 to 7 pm: Bay Haven Karaoke All Stars
7:30 to 9 pm: Cherry Ash
Sunday
10 to 11:30 am: TBA
Noon to 1:30 pm: Buzzkill
2 to 3:30 pm: Rockfish
4 to 5 pm: Unplugged