Russell Dickerson makes rousing debut at Lorain County Fair

After storm clouds cleared leaving behind blue skies and mild temperatures, hot country singer Russell Dickerson on Monday night made his rousing Lorain County Fair debut at the Wellington grandstand. The Tennessee native opened his more than 90-minute show with Top-20 track "Home Sweet," followed by No. 1 single "Every Little Thing." The former was a midtempo rocker; the groove-oriented latter tune included an "O-H" with a loud "I-O" from the crowd. "Somebody came to party tonight," said Dickerson to the packed standing-room-only pit. "I always love playing Ohio." Those old-school concertgoers looking for the singer's country sound sort of found it with "Waiting for You," which in between the pop sheen and sizzling guitar included Dickerson on occasion delivering melodic vocals. The youthful artist represents a Nash Vegas country motif that embraces modern sounds. This included an auto-tuned vocal track kicking off "Forever For a Little While." While the crowd at times was a bit reserved, the outgoing singer did his best to energize fairgoers. "We're kicking fair week off — let's go," Dickerson said, before launching into his current single, "She Likes It." The singer then slowed things down with "Come to Jesus," which fit perfectly into the American Pie feeling associated with a country fair. Strumming an acoustic guitar and draped in blue light, Dickerson — backed by a solid four-piece band — played to the audience, extending the anthemic track in hopes of getting some audience participation. It was a good effort, even if the fans didn't join him. Looking ahead to Dickerson's next album, which is a follow-up to his 2020 sophomore release, "Southern Symphony," the platinum artist unveiled the unreleased song "Big Wheels." The crunchy tune included the memorable lyrics of "Big Wheels, back roads and cold beer." Regarding cold beer, a later-than-normal start time provided plenty of pregaming opportunities for the fans, which packed three-quarters of the grandstand and track area. Speaking of "Southern Symphony," the title track did the trick with fans who really embraced Dickerson singing along to just an acoustic guitar. Next was another new track, the tender "Just Like Your Mama." That's where the singer finally hooked the grandstand. He keenly kept the momentum going with his biggest song to date, "Yours." Any questions about Dickerson's demographics were answered by taking one look at his merch table, which boasted T-shirts such as "Runs on Coffee & Redwine" and "RD Party USA." The female-heavy audience enjoyed the sing-along affair. "Country concerts and the Lorain County Fair are the best," Wellington resident Taylor Curtiss said. "I just love Russell. He sings 'Blue Tacoma.' "And what better way to end summer than to be here, enjoy the food, see the animals and have a good time with my friends." While Dickerson scratched the audience's country itch, tonight's featured act is '80s band Night Ranger, which will be showing off how "(You Can Still) Rock in America." Contact John Benson at ndiffrence@att.net.