Trace Adkins brought country music back to the Harford Fair in New Milford, PA, after the Fair’s year hiatus of having a national act headline the main stage. Not even the steady downpour of rain could dampen anyone’s excitement at the Fairgrounds.
Fair attendants were on hand giving paper towels to the crowd as they entered the venue so their seats could be a little less soggy. The drab weather had the majority of people decked out in ponchos, rain coats and rain boots instead of the normal cowboy hat and boot attire. But the harder it rained the more excited the crowd seemed to get before Trace took the stage.
With a slight break in the short rain the house lights went out and Adkins took the stage slightly ahead of schedule and came singing his hit “No Thinking Thing”. His presence on stage seemed to make everyone, especially the ladies in the audience forget about how soggy their shoes and socks were from the wet ground beneath them. Some people were worried that Adkins rough past few months would reflect at his show but as soon as he hit the stage you could tell that Adkins was back and happy as ever. Adkins face wore nothing but a bright smile and had a genuinely happy light in his eyes. Once people saw this they knew he wouldn’t disappoint.
Adkins kept going and went straight into the meat of his setlist performing “Songs About Me,” “This Ain’t No Love Song,” “Marry For Money” and “Chrome.” He then slowed it down and took a minute to tell a story about his hit “You’re Going To Miss This.” He explained that he had to buy a new suit because of the song to wear to the Grammy’s and jokingly said unfortunately some ‘Swift girl’ won instead of him. Adkins kept the stories going with his 20 year old song “There’s A Girl In Texas.” He explained that he just had started rotating the song back into shows again and that it was the first writing assignment he ever did with a label.
Before going back into his setlist of hits, Adkins sang a new song called “Between Jesus and Jones” from his upcoming album. This song was fantastic and is hopefully an example of the direction his new album will go in.
Adkins rounded out his setlist with “Every Light In The House,” “Big Time,” “One Hot Momma” and “Ladies Love Country Boys.” Before departing he let his hair down from his ponytail and sang a cover of “Every Time You Go Away” with his backup singer Mary Ann Grace. He then proceeded to end his set with his notorious number one single “Honkey Tonk Badonkadonk.”
Trace Adkins didn’t leave one unsatisfied person in the audience. Everyone from the front row all the way back to the grandstand seemed happy with his performance.
His tour continues through the fall and includes another visit to NEPA on November 13, 2015 at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Wilkes-Barre, PA.
