The annual Jefferson City Jaycees Cole County Fair is set for 2018, with 4-H events, a rodeo, dirt drag racing and tractor pulls. The entertainment lineup has also been scheduled, and with a headliner like musician Uncle Kracker - an act which saw around 7,000 in attendance last year - the Jaycees are following that up with some equally large names.
Riverside Band, Steelheart and Muscaline Blood will open the week as the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday headliners at the fair, respectively. Closing out the week, Jefferson City-based band Shaman's Harvest, country musician Neal McCoy and the band Head East are slated to headline Thursday, Friday and Saturday night. These acts will play at the main stage.
Shaman's Harvest
Shaman's Harvest started in 1996 when the band members were in high school together. According to lead singer Nathan "Drake" Hunt, none of the members were friends in high school, but after an unplanned jam session at a party, the band began playing and rehearsing together frequently.
While the band's Spotify page lists them as "post-grunge," Hunt describes the group's music as "very Midwestern," blending a lot of genres the band grew up listening to including grunge, soul and blues.
Since that party, the band's found ample success. According to their website, they've toured or shared stages with acts like AC/DC, Alice In Chains, Godsmack, Breaking Benjamin, Seether, Nickelback, Three Doors Down, In This Moment, Daughtry, Cheap Trick, Theory of a Deadman and Hinder.
While that list of bands sees a lot of internationally known rock groups, Shaman's Harvest is still based in the Jefferson City area. A few members of the band still live in Jefferson City and the Mid-Missouri area.
Although the band is rooted in Jefferson City, they actually haven't performed in the area since around 2000, when they played the Beer Garden stage at Jaycee's that year. According to Hunt, they opened up for the Marshall Tucker Band that year.
"It's kind of gratifying to be able to come back almost 20 years later," Hunt said. "It's surreal because all of our families are going to be there, our friends, other bands that we grew up with to see what we've been doing all over the country. We're bringing in some extra production. We're looking at it as: it's the last show on our tour, and we're treating it that way."
Neal McCoy
McCoy was a prominent fixture in country music through the 1990s and early 2000s, but he has recently found his name back in headlines with the release of a single titled, "Take a Knee My Ass." The song is McCoy's response to protests by NFL players - started by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick - who kneeled during the National Anthem to speak out against racial injustice in America.
McCoy made clear in an interview with the News Tribune that he understands everyone has a right to protest, but he wonders if players could find a different time to protest.
"Couldn't you do it some other time than the minute and a half they play our national anthem?" McCoy said.
The singer debuted the song in Branson and live streamed it on Facebook, garnering 4.4 million views.
McCoy said he hasn't played the Jefferson City area in at least 15 years, but he thinks those in attendance at the fair will "get their money's worth."
"The thing that we pride ourselves in," McCoy said, is that "every performance is different because we don't have a set list. I go out there, I give the band the first song and we just kind of go from there. I think it's one of the reasons people come back and see us again."
Head East
Slated to headline last year's fair, Head East was brought back due to last year's performance being rained out.
"I mean, it was like being in Florida," band member Roger Boyd said of the weather the day of Head East's performance last year.
According to Schollmeyer, there was "pretty big public outcry" over last year's cancellation and that was a big reason they were brought back this year.
The band, which is coming up on its 50th year together, will be performing three or four newer songs in their set on top of their usual discography, Boyd said.
Boyd said in an interview that the band has a significant following in Mid-Missouri in part because the band plays areas around Lake of the Ozarks and Table Rock Lake, frequently.
He also said the band's excited to be in "Jefferson City proper" and that it's been about a decade since the band played in the city.
For a complete schedule of fair entertainment, times and tickets and more information, visit facebook.com/JeffersonCityJayceesFair.