Blackberry Smoke, Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line among county fair headliners

Southern rockers Blackberry Smoke headline the Sangamon County Fair in New Berlin June 15 while the Morgan County Fair in Jacksonville has booked Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line for July 14 and Lee Brice for July 15.

Both fairs made concert announcements late last week.

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Hubbard and Brian Kelley, who met while students at Belmont University where they played in a cover band, officially said in mid-2022 that the duo is on hiatus with both pursuing solo careers.

The Florida Georgia Line hit "Cruise" launched the "bro-country" style of music, with its emphasis on partying and driving trucks, melding together rock and hip-hop. It won the CMA "Single of the Year" in 2013.

The duo's chain of hits includes "Meant to Be" (with Bebe Rexha), "May We All" (with Tim McGraw) and "Lil Bit" with St. Louis' Nelly.

Hubbard's solo hits include "5 Foot 9" and "Dancin' in the Country." He again played with McGraw on "Undivided."

Southern Illinois native Drew Baldridge ("Someone's Daughter"), who played for the fair's kickoff announcement Saturday, opens for Hubbard.

Brice's string of hits includes "Love Like Crazy," "A Woman Like You," "Hard to Love,' "I Drive Your Truck," "I Don't Dance", "Rumor," "I Hope You're Happy Now", "One of Them Girls" and "Memory I Don't Mess With."

Brice's younger brother, Lewis Brice, opens the show.

Morgan County Fair director Gary Hadden noted the pair have written songs together.

"It could be a very fun night and a very unique night," Hadden said.

Blackberry Smoke emerged out of Georgia in 2000. The band worked with Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb (Jason Isbell and Chris Stapleton) on "You Hear Georgia" in 2021.

The septet has toured with ZZ Top, Zac Brown Band and Eric Church and collaborated with Gregg Allman on "Free on the Wing" from 2016's "Like an Arrow," and Warren Haynes (Gov't Mule) and Jamey Johnson.

Stoney LaRue, who has collaborated with Jason Boland, Cody Canada (of Cross Canadian Ragweed) and Miranda Lambert, among others, opens the show.

Early bird tickets are on sale for $25 at the Sangamon County Fair website through Friday for $25. There is a $5 admission to the fair which runs June 14-18.

Tickets for shows at the Morgan County Fair (July 11-16) go on sale at the fair's website on April 13.

• At the Macoupin County Fair in Carlinville, Josh Turner and Drew Baldridge plan June 8. Tickets are $30-$45. Turner played at the Logan County Fair and the University of Illinois Springfield in 2021. The fair has been bumped up to June 6-11.

• The Menard County Fair (July 18-23) in Petersburg welcomes in Justin Moore ("Why We Drink") and Priscilla Block to the Grandstand on July 21. Tickets are $40. Among his appearances in central Illinois was a stop at the Illinois State Fair in 2015.

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Blackberry Smoke headlines Sangamon County Fair in New Berlin, IL