Josh Turner worth the wait for Logan County Fair music fans

[August 09, 2021]   Nashville recording artist and songwriter Josh Turner was well worth the one-year wait as he entertained an enthusiastic crowd of 1,300 people at the Logan County Fair on Saturday night. Turner was scheduled to perform at the 2020 Logan County Fair that was canceled due to Covid-19.

When the 43-year-old South Carolina native took the stage Saturday night in Lincoln, the crowd went wild. Live music was back at the fair and with Turner bringing his deep voice to the much-appreciative ears of all ages, smiles and laughter filled the atmosphere, as did lots of singing and dancing.

Turner strolled on stage, guitar in hand, singing the words, “Well, the weatherman says, “It’s gonna be a hot one” and the crowd was quick to relate, hanging on his every word as he reached the chorus to his opening song, “All Over Me.” Turner was lighting a fire under the crowd early and with his songs “Deep South” and “Firecracker” following, the fans were happy to sing along in their best karaoke voices.

Turner was quick to jump into a Hank Williams’ classic from 1951, “I Saw the Light” and it was a goose bump moment that, praise the Lord, maybe a lot of people wanted to hear Saturday night. The crowd certainly knew every word and gently sang along with Turner, smiling and swaying. Obviously proud, Turner would tell the crowd he won his first Dove Award for “I Saw the Light.”

Turner then introduced his next song as the most played song of 2012. “Time is Love” was not written by Turner, but he was attracted to the song because of its lyrics. He once said in an interview, “This song grabbed me from the first listen because it has such an infectious melody and lyrically it really tells a message that I have been wanting to say for a long time. It’s not about quality time but quantity time and taking the time to get to know the person better and develop a relationship with that person.”

The fans definitely loved this song early on in the show, and the anticipation of so many more hits to come was certainly rising.

The middle of Turner’s set was filled with the songs “Me and God,” “Everything is Fine,” “Hometown Girl,” “Country State of Mind,” and “I’ve Got It Made.”

When Turner rolled into the songs “I Can Tell by the Way you Dance” and “I’m No Stranger to the Rain” the crowd was loose, singing and dancing like no one was watching.

Turner introduced his next hit, “Your Man,” by saying it was the 15th anniversary of the song and he recently released it again, even shooting updated scenes for the video. Turner starred in the video 15 years ago with his wife, Jennifer. The couple revisited the same scenes from 15 years ago to shoot the updated version in June of this year.

The crowd went crazy over the Turner-penned classic that went to No. 1 even before some of his fans in the crowd were born. The song features Turner’s deep baritone voice that listeners fell in love with from the start. He also offered that the record ‘Your Man’ from which the song is from is also available on vinyl for the first time. Another reason to fall in love with Josh Turner.

With Turner cranking out hit after hit, the crowd was gearing up for the homestretch when they heard that train on the tracks coming. Turner’s 6’1 frame and deep voice emerged from the smoke to say, “There’s a long black train comin’ down the line...” The crowd erupted. The song was easily a crowd favorite with Turner singing the words along with his fans, “But there’s victory in the Lord, I say.” Turner wrote the song in 2003 and it spent 30 weeks on the music charts. His gospel influence is heard throughout the song and it was yet another crowd-pleaser.

Arms were waving in the air when Turner’s band cranked it up for “Why Don’t We Just Dance.” This song was a No. 1 hit for Turner in 2010 and with over a decade elapsing since its release, it was evident that the 30 something crowd in attendance had perfected their dance moves to this classic hit over time. But not to single out any particular group, the entire crowd was dancing and singing along to this tune, too. And that entire crowd, by the way, featured grandparents singing along with the tunes just as easily as the kids who were barely in double-digits.

With 15 songs already complete and receiving much applause, Turner was ready to catch his breath a moment and get ready to send the crowd home with a memory-making encore.
 

Memorable it was. As soon as the words, “Just the good ol’ boys, never meaning no harm,” rolled from Turner’s tongue, the crowd blew up with excitement. The Waylon Jennings song from the hit TV show “The Dukes of Hazzard” was certainly a tune familiar with the Logan County Fair crowd.

This excitement carried over to the final song of the night, “Would You Go with Me.” Turner led the crowd clapping on this last song, which was a No. 1 hit from 2006. The crowd sang every single word to this song and ate up every guitar and banjo strum.

As Turner and his band waved goodbye to the Logan County Fair fans, it was pretty evident there was a new love affair developing between the two groups. The concert went by quickly and the music flowed as easily as the cold beverages, assuring everyone a good time.

Turner and his band proved from start to finish they were well worth the wait. Logan County was hungry for live music and a good time and they got it Saturday night from this guy and his buddies.

Way to go, Logan County Fair organizers. This show was a hit and will be talked about for years to come.

[Teena Lowery]