FAIR ANNOUNCES GRANDSTAND LINE-UP
Youth Fair officials have announced the 2022 lineup of entertainment acts for the 76th Berrien County Youth Fair. The BCYF entertainment committee is excited to bring the one and only Granger Smith. Fair officials made the announcement on Monday, along with the rest of the 2022 BCYF grandstand lineup.
Starting off the week on Monday, the BCYF Grandstand lineup opens up with the always popular, always loud, Truck and Tractor Pull. This year’s pull, which will be held on Monday, August 15 at 7 pm will again be an NTPA regional event and will feature Super Farm, 3.0 Diesel Trucks, Mini Rods and Hot Farm pulls. The event is welcomed by News Talk Sports 94.9 WSJM.
Tuesday, August 16, also known as “Kids Day” the grandstand will feature three FREE shows by Circus Continental, welcomed by 98.3 The Coast. Circus Continental has been entertaining kids and adults alike for many years at the Berrien County Youth Fair. Don’t miss out on this family and wallet friendly show!
Welcomed by 97.5 Y Country, and presented by Indiana Michigan Power – Cook Nuclear Plant, on Wednesday, August 17, award winning country artist, Granger Smith will perform; fans may also catch a glimpse of his alter-ego Earl Dibbles Jr.!
Over the course of his groundbreaking career, Granger Smith has amassed a massive and rabid audience now known as “Yee Yee Nation” built through heavy touring and grassroots fan engagements. He now has a social media following exceeding 8 1/2 million and more than one billion online video views. Breaking onto the scene in 2016 with the hit “Backroad Song” of which Smith not only wrote, but also produced, published and performed, he followed it up with the Top 5 hit, “If The Boot Fits.”
A born-and-bred Texan, Smith began writing, creating and prepping for his 10th studio album back in 2019 when in June, all of those plans abruptly came to a halt. He had booked a Nashville studio for June 5, 2019, but on the night of June 4, Smith and his wife Amber lost their 3-year-old son River in a tragic drowning accident at their Texas home. “Everything stopped. The album wasn’t just on hold. It didn’t even cross my mind.” Smith recalls. After several months of mourning, while visiting his parents, he was listening to a song he’d written before the accident and planned to record on June 5. “That’s Why I Love Dirt Roads” started to hit Smith in a different way with a new meaning. He sat down and reworked the song and began to prepare to re-enter the music world, against his team’s warnings. Just as he was starting to ramp up his tour, he came back home, and COVID-19 hit. The quarantine gave Smith the downtime to pen even more songs including “Heroes” and “I Kill Spiders”. His album started to take a turn, he recorded a few songs addressing his own family, something he’d never done before in his music. The title track on his new album is known for its simplicity. “Country Things’” speaks to the simplicity in Smith’s life; boiling everything down to what we need and not what we want. Don’t count out Smith’s alter ego “Earl Dibbles Jr.” though. “Earl” songs make an appearance on this album too.
In addition to his music, Smith and his wife, their son Lincoln and their daughter London have started to reveal more of themselves in their YouTube series The Smiths.
Smith says the new music, the YouTube series, the Yee Yee brand, and Earl Dibbles Jr., all work together to reveal the truth, that he and his family are normal, very vulnerable humans and he hopes his fans feel closer and more comfortable around him.
Returning on not one, but TWO nights, Thursday, August 18 and Friday, August 19, derby promoter TNT Demolition Derby, will bring back the crowd favorite demolition derby. On Thursday night, welcomed by Rock107 WIRX and presented by Honor Credit Union, fans will see derby classes including both stock and modified small fwd car bump n’ run (a blend of track racing and derby), gut n’ go fwd mini vans, small trucks and SUV’s and full size weld trucks. On Friday night, welcomed by Rock107 WIRX, fans can expect to see big car limited welds, gut n’ go fwd small cars, rs bonestock big cars and youth gut n’ go fwd small cars.
Saturday, August 20, welcomed by 97.5 Y-Country, fans can rest assured the BCYF has brought back the crowd favorite, Bullmania, including crowd favorite bull riding and kid favorite, mutton busting. This night is always fun for all that attend!
Tickets for grandstand shows go on sale Friday, March 11, 2022 at 10:00 am at the Fair office, online at www.bcyf.org or by phone at 269-473-1500 (ticket fees do not include gate admission).
The 76th Berrien County Youth Fair runs August 15-20, 2022 with the theme of “Red, White and Blue in 2022”.
