38 Special, Chase Rice, Cory Asbury added to fair lineup

Jun. 21—This week, the Kern County Fair is feeling a little bit country and a little bit rock 'n' roll announcing its latest musical acts.

Christian musician Cory Asbury will perform Sept. 26 at the fair's Budweiser Pavilion.

A former member of the Bethel Music collective, the songwriter and worship pastor has released three solo albums, including the most recent 2020's "To Love a Fool."

Playing Sept. 27 is a returning act to Bakersfield: Southern rock band 38 Special.

Together for four decades, 38 Special is known for hits such as "Caught Up in You," "Fantasy Girl" and "If I'd Been the One." Along with radio hits, it had songs featured on 1980s films such as the 1984 Nick Nolte film "Teachers" and "Revenge of the Nerds 2."

The band now features guitarist/vocalist Don Barnes, bassist Barry Dunaway, drummer Gary Moffatt, keyboardist/vocalist Bobby Capps and guitarist/vocalist Jerry Riggs.

Country fans may be happy to hear of the fair's Sept. 28 act. Chase Rice, who first made a name for himself as a contestant on the TV show "Survivor: Nicaragua" in 2010, will bring his modern country sound to the local stage.

With 2.2 million albums sold and over 2.1 billion total streams, Rice is sure to draw a crowd with songs like "Ready Set Roll," "Eyes on You" and title tracks from the new album "I Hate Cowboys & All Dogs Go to Hell."

The fair has released news of performing acts each week in June. Already announced performers are classic rock act Blue Oyster Cult (Sept. 20), R&B hitmaker Brian McKnight (Sept. 21), country singer-songwriter Rodney Atkins (Sept. 22), tribute band Queen Nation (Sept. 23), Tejano group La Mafia (Sept. 24) and country-pop singer-songwriter Mitchell Tenpenny (Sept. 25).

The fair will announce the final three musical acts next Wednesday.

All concerts start at 8 p.m. in the Budweiser Pavilion at the fairgrounds, 1142 S. P St. Each is free with fair admission.

The Kern County Fair will run from Sept. 20 through Oct. 1. Discount admission tickets will go on sale at kerncountyfair.com in August.

Stefani Dias can be reached at 661-395-7488. Follow her on Twitter at @realstefanidias.