GJCF announces Cody Johnson performance, July 20

     The Saturday evening entertainment line-up has been announced for the 2024 Great Jones County Fair.

   Country music artist Cody Johnson will headline on July 20, at 8 p.m. Opening the show will be special guest Randall King.

   “Two to three years ago, they were both described as ‘red dirt’ country,” said GJCF Manager Lucas Gobeli. “Now, they’re crossing over to mainstream country, but have not lost their unique sound.”

   Tickets for Cody Johnson go on sale already this Friday, Dec. 15, at 10 a.m. via the fair’s website (greatjonescountyfair.com). Tickets are $75 for all seating options (amphitheater, hillside bleachers, and track).

   “Cody Johnson is someone we have been looking at the past couple of years,” hinted Gobeli. “But routing never worked out for us. This year, it finally worked out.”

   Less than an hour after making the announcement, Gobeli shared that comments via social media were all very positive.

   Johnson has released eight albums since 2006. His eighth, “Human: The Double Album,” was released in October 2021.

   About a month ago in early November, Johnson’s ninth album, “Leather,” was released.

   He has said his country music style is influenced by such stars as George Strait, Willie Nelson, Hank Williams, and Loretta Lynn.

   Some of Johnson’s hits include: “On My Way to You,” “Dear Rodeo (a duet with Reba McEntire),” and “‘Til You Can’t.”

   He’s been nominated for American Music Awards, CMT Music Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards, and Country Music Association Awards.

   Randall King brings to the stage the same energy to that of Eric Church, Dierks Bentley, and Jason Aldean.

   In early November, the GJCF announced country artist Lainey Wilson for July 18. The announcement was made on a Monday. A couple of day later, on Wednesday evening, the ACM (Academy of Country Music) Awards were held. Wilson cleaned up during the show, winning six different awards! Tickets went on sale two days following that, on Friday morning. By the next Monday, a week after the announcement, the Lainey Wilson concert was completely sold out!

   Gobeli said artists typically hold a few tickets back to be sold closer to the concert, but that release date has not been determined.

   “We never know when that will be,” said Gobeli.

   He said the timing of the announcement with the ACMs was pure luck; no one knew Wilson would take home so many awards.

   “This was our fastest sale since 2015 with Tim McGraw,” noted Gobeli.

   While the Pitbull concert last summer was also a sell-out, tickets didn’t sell out until about a month before the fair.

   “It’s a really nice feeling,” relayed Gobeli. “We’ve been lucky like this a few times in the past. Everything just fell into place for us.”

   In February, the GJCF will make its fourth and final entertainment announcement for Sunday evening, July 21.

   “We’re going to have a bull-riding event with a music act to follow,” offered Gobeli.

   This is a single-ticket event, meaning the purchase of your ticket includes admission to the bull-riding as well as the concert.

   In November, Fair Board elections were held. Katrina Rix and Grace Carpenter were re-elected to the board. New members elected included: Klayton Kiburz, Russ Radloff, and John Carlson.