Rock and country: 2024 Stark County Fair to feature Night Ranger and Scotty McCreery

• The Stark County Fair has two big acts this summer: Night Ranger on Aug. 28 and Scotty McCreery on Aug. 29.
• Night Ranger was an MTV favorite in the 1980s with hit songs like "Sister Christian" and "When You Close Your Eyes."
• Scotty McCreery rose to fame after winning the tenth season of "American Idol" and breaking through in the country music genre.

CANTON − Night Ranger will prove that you can still rock at the Stark County Fair this summer.

Known for its signature song, "Sister Christian," as well as others like "(You Can Still) Rock in America" and "When You Close Your Eyes," the '80s band will headline on Aug. 28 at the Stark County Fairgrounds.

This year is a one-two punch of musical acts. Country music artist Scotty McCreery will take the stage on Aug. 29, the Stark County Fair announced Wednesday.

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Night Ranger follows up last summer's big rock show at the fair when Styx cranked out its hits to a packed grandstand and other fans crowding the stage and track.

Other charting songs for Night Ranger include "Sentimental Street" and "Don't Tell Me You Love Me."

The pop rock band's music also has crossed over into pop culture beyond radio and MTV, including the television shows "American Dad," "Glee," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Parks and Recreation," as well as being featured in video games and the Broadway musical "Rock of Ages" and the movie "Boogie Nights."

The band features Jack Blades (bass and vocals); Kelly Keagy (drums and vocals); Brad Gillis (lead and rhythm guitars); Eric Levy (keyboards); and Keri Kelli (lead and rhythm guitars).

Scotty McCreery became a star after winning 'American Idol'

McCreery broke into the music scene as a teenager in 2011 as the winner of the 10th season of the "American Idol."

Also in 2011, he released the platinum-selling album "Clear as Day," which reached No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard Top 200 albums chart.

The North Carolina native won the CMT Music Award for Breakthrough Video of the Year in 2012 for the song, "The Trouble with Girls."

Other popular songs include "Damn Strait," "This is It" and "Five More Minutes," which has racked up 143 million views on YouTube.

McCreery's music also has been streamed more than 1 billion times on Pandora.

How to buy tickets for Night Ranger and Scotty McCreery

Tickets go on sale for both concerts at 10 a.m. Friday at https://starkcountyfair.com/.

Both concerts will be at 8 p.m. Gates open at 6:30 p.m.

Reach Ed at ebalint@gannett.com.

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