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| Photo: Cal Poly Pomona Special Collections |
After the grandstand capacity was expanded and track became the first location for parimutuel wagering in Southern California in 1933, attendance increased substantially. Local broadcast stations presented music shows featuring radio hit parade stars such as orchestras and their singers.
By the Fifties, entertainment offerings expanded beyond big top circus-styled “Cavalcade of Stars” attractions and comedians. Jazz and pop acts Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck Quartet, Mickey Rooney, and the Lennon Sisters appeared, as did Liberace for a multi-day engagement. Folk, country, and rock ‘n’ roll were briefly represented too: Johnny Cash, The Kingston Trio, Johnny Burnette, and Richie Valens (backed by future Beach Boy Bruce Johnston on piano) performed during a special 1958 Hometown Jamboree radio and television broadcast.
The Sixties saw grandstand shows with “Country and Western Stars of the Grand Ole Opry” like Ferlin Husky, Skeeter Davis, and Red Sovine, plus Tex Williams and the Modern Folk Quartet.
Subsequent decades would lean heavily on that genre. Seventies offerings included Johnny Cash, Lynn Anderson, Johnny Lee, Charley Pride, Freddie Fender, and Rick Nelson. Among the Eighties slate was Loretta Lynn, Ray Charles, Barbara Mandrell, Oak Ridge Boys, Roger Miller, and Mickey Gilley.
“In the early ‘80s, the fair was doing concerts with acts like the Beach Boys and Eddie Rabbitt, but then (officials) decided that they didn’t really need music,” explained former Fairplex VP Dale Coleman. “It was expensive, and it wasn’t really necessary to do higher level entertainment. So, it just stopped.” Coleman, a Pomona High School, and University of La Verne graduate, joined the Fairplex staff in 1990. He oversaw LA County Fair music bookings before retiring from the position in 2020 and is still involved as a consultant.
Around the time Coleman started, Marlboro (Phillip Morris USA) was a sponsor and “would go around to fairs, bring in a stage and fairly significant entertainment” under the Marlboro Music banner, he said. “We had acts like Martina McBride and Rick Trevino and did that for a couple of years.
“We saw (top name music artists) attracted people to the fair,” Coleman continued. “That's when we decided we ought to try to do our own concert series” – especially since the live music landscape in the greater Los Angeles area was still relatively sparse in the mid-1990s.
“It was what I would describe as ‘a buyer's market’ then. The nostalgia craze became a big thing. The ‘70s acts were starting to be in demand again, but they were still reasonable (to book). “Being a kid who grew up in Pomona, I had a good sense of the market. I thought, ‘The first act we need is War.’”
Since then, the LA funk/rock/soul band has appeared around every year at the fair.
“They are jokingly referred to as our ‘house band,’ but they’re so popular,” said Coleman. “I try to open up the fair every year with War and people love it. The grandstand’s full, you know they’re there, and the pricing is right - which is not the same for a lot of acts anymore.”
Thoroughbred horse racing at the fair always took precedence at the grandstand before moving to Los Alamitos in 2014.
“We couldn’t even think about doing a concert at night until the races were done,” Coleman recalled. They devised “this massive portable stage. We would do all the soundchecks off in the barn area during the day. When horse racing finally ended, it became like a track meet to get that stage out into position…I can't even believe we did that for all those years.”
The fair has always taken the Los Angeles area demographics into careful consideration while booking artists.
“If you go back in time, you’ll see lots of R&B, rock and roll and Hispanic-type music. That’s very purposeful…being somebody who grew up in Pomona, I understood the culture.
“I have applied that through the years and tried to find the next big thing. The fair does not have the budget to compete with major venues. Indian casinos spend crazy money on talent because they can, and their mousetrap is different.”
Coleman admitted to being proud how the fair was Toby Keith’s “first $100,000 paycheck.” Also, for snagging artists like Brad Paisley, Rihanna, Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, and Kane Brown to play the concert series “right before they got huge. They already were on their way up, so when they came to the fair, we had a sellout.” His industry connections also led to engagements by Jackson Browne and Crosby Stills and Nash in the 2000s. “That’s rock and roll royalty,” Coleman said.
An effort to increase diversity among LA County Fair attendees and spotlight local emerging music talent is at the heart of NextFest. More than 250 entertainment acts, spanning various genres and disciplines (DJs, musicians, dancers, karate), will appear during the third festival-within-the-fair on multiple stages.
“We make sure there’s something for everyone and it is of quality,” said Lucas Rivera, a former Fairplex VP and current lead fair consultant who runs the Sakul Creative arts and culture agency.
“Come to the music festival, see five different genres of music, hang out at the Ferris wheel, eat some corn dogs, and see the animals. It’s a win-win,” added Rivera. “You can’t get that type of entertainment anywhere for 20 bucks.”
A version of my article originally appeared in select SoCal Newsgroup (SCNG) newspapers in print and online.
