Music at the fair includes popular Band-O-Rama
Members of the That Arena Rock Show performed top hits of the 1980s at the grandstand on Wednesday night.
All eight high school bands in the county participated in Tuesday’s Band-O-Rama at the Tuscarawas County Fair.
The event was the fourth since it was reborn. Participating were Indian Valley, Garaway, Strasburg, Claymont, Newcomerstown, New Philadelphia, Tusky Valley and Dover. The bands each received a donation from the fair board for attending.
Traditional and nontraditional band shows and halftime tunes were heard with some dance moves by the band members. Some of the songs included “Welcome to the Jungle,” “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” “Jungle Boogie,” “Old Time Rock and Roll,” “I Want to Dance with Somebody,” “The Final Countdown,” “Hot Stuff,” “Call Me,” and “Baby Boy,” a song by Beyonce.
Terri and Jack Jones of New Philadelphia attended because they have a niece in the Tusky Valley marching swing band.
“We stayed for the whole show because it was so good. It was an interesting show,” Terri Jones said.
The show was organized by fair board member Doug Wills, with help from Bart Herman.
“I’m thrilled to death — what a crowd and great bands. I think it’s a real testament to the musical talent in Tuscarawas County. To see the grandstands almost full, I think it shows the tremendous support of the parents and the groups that work with the band,” Wills said. “The kids are really into it, and they look forward to coming to the fair.”
Some bands sat in the grandstand until their performance and cheered on the other bands.
The very next night on Wednesday featured professional musical entertainment with the show, That Arena Rock Show. The band performs a tribute to classic rock and roll, with hits from such artists as KISS, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Guns N’ Roses, Def Leppard, Poison, Van Halen and more, and they made numerous costume changes to make the experience more authentic.
Before taking the stage to bring back the popular songs of the 1980s, a video featuring the rock stars of that era was played on a large screen. Then, in all their hair band glory, the five members of the group churned through many popular songs including “Dream On” and “Schools Out,” and one band member recreated the guitar style of Jimi Hendrix’s version of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Fans of all ages attended the show, and some could be seen sporting That Arena Rock Show T-shirts. Ed Corpman, fair board president, was involved in making sure the show was a success.
“I enjoyed absolutely every minute of it, from the setup of the stage and the sound and all the work. But once they performed, what an amazing show. We’ve had a lot of good concerts, but that really brought my music tastes to life and for a lot of other people,” Corpman said. “We had a very good crowd. We’ve had very good weather. It was very entertaining, not only their singing, but their performing and the costume changes.”
Corpman was able to help the band by putting them in touch with a couple of other places for concerts. He also would like to have them perform again at the fairgrounds sometime in the future.
The return of regular concerts to the fair schedule is looking good.
“A concert is something we are going to consider again for next year. We’ve always done a concert in the past but kind of got away from it because of finances, but we’re going to try to continue Wednesday night concerts,” Corpman said.
After all the work that goes on during fair week, the concert was a chance to relax.
Corpman said he was pleased with this year’s fair week in general.
“It’s been phenomenal. Admissions have been up, the rides have been selling out and the vendors are all having a good year,” Corpman said.
He credits the weather.
“I can never remember weather like this at the fair,” Corpman said, adding he does remember snow one year and rain others.
On Saturday night a square dance with some more modern line dances was held in the main show arena with disc jockey Dan Kirk of Carrollton, a retired high school agricultural teacher who provided the music and dance instructions.
The dance was another family event provided at the fair as the arena overflowed with participants and spectators.