Montgomery Gentry comes to Mercer County Fair

Montgomery Gentry generated two decades' worth of memories while making music and touring the world.

"Aw, man, let me tell you … there's a lot of things you can't even say, you can't even print. We've had a ball, man," said Eddie Montgomery during a July 26 phone interview.

What can be printed, however, is that Montgomery, one half of the popular country duo, is coming to the Mercer County Fair on Friday night. The country music legend said his band - with some added on-stage entertainment by fellow country star Phil Vassar - should provide a memorable experience for attendees.

"It's Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery Gentry, and any time we get on the stage anything can happen, and it usually does," said the Kentucky-born singer, whose former stage partner Troy Gentry tragically died in a September 2017 helicopter crash. "We've been known to bolt the doors, lock the gates and party all night long."

Montgomery Gentry's story began in the early 1990s, when Montgomery; his brother, John Michael Montgomery; and Gentry formed a band. John Michael Montgomery went on to sign as a solo act with Atlantic Records and had success with hits "I Swear," "I Can Love You Like That," "Be My Baby Tonight" and "Sold." Meanwhile, Eddie Montgomery and Gentry went their separate ways for a little while before officially forming their own band in 1999.

"Me and Troy (or, as he calls him, 'Tee-Roy') had done a lot of work back at home in Lexington, Kentucky, for tornado relief and Toys for Tots and things like that," Montgomery explained. "And every time it seemed like they called Troy or they called me, they always called the other one. So, Sony Records ended up coming to see us in a bar in Lexington, Kentucky, and signed us.

"Our first name was actually 'Deuce' " he added. "But every time we'd go walking through Sony down in Nashville, they'd be like 'Oh, here come those Montgomery Gentry boys.' So, it kind of stuck."

Montgomery Gentry became members of the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry. The duo put 20-plus singles on the charts in their career, which earned them Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association awards, as well as a Grammy nomination in 2006 for "Lucky Man." You've probably heard most of their hits, too, which include "My Town," "Hillbilly Shoes," "Something To Be Proud Of" and "Where I Come From."

"We've went over and seen our troops in Iraq, Japan and Korea," Montgomery said. "There's a lot of places we love to play, and we've been around the world pretty much a couple of times. We just love playing and hanging out. Of course, we haven't ever called anybody fans - we call them friends. We've been lucky enough that we have a lot of friends around the world."

In 2018, the band released a tribute album to its fallen member titled "Here's to You," which featured songs recorded before Gentry's death. The album was meant to celebrate 20 years of Montgomery Gentry hits, while also adding some new hits to the collection.

Vassar also knows a thing or two about making hit music.

During a 20-some year career, Vassar made a name for himself on the musical charts, both as a singer and songwriter. According to his Spotify page, Vassar has racked up 10 No. 1 singles and 26 Top 40 songs, among them "Carlene," "Just Another Day in Paradise," "Six-Pack Summer" and "When I Love You."

Vassar has earned The Academy of Country Music's Top New Male Vocalist and two American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Songwriter of the Year trophies after having penned hits for Collin Raye ("Little Red Rodeo"), Alan Jackson ("Right on the Money") and Tim McGraw ("For a Little While").

"I know the last time we played with him, he was a helluva entertainer," Montgomery said of Vassar. "And a great songwriter, by the way."

Friday's show gets underway at 8 p.m.

From country to Christian, the fair entertainment lineup has it all.

On Saturday, Crowder takes the stage with special guests We Are Messengers.

A Texan-singer/songwriter, David Crowder has a mass following on Spotify. His top five songs - "Come As You Are," "Red Letters," "All My Hope," "Let It Rain (Is There Anybody)" and "Forgiven" - have more than 55 million downloads.

David Crowder gained notoriety in the early 2000s as the leader of the church music group David Crowder Band, his Spotify biography stated. Since going solo in 2012, Crowder has enjoyed success, known to fuse elements of pop, rock, folk, bluegrass and hip-hop into his music.

We Are Messengers has been based in the United States since 2015 and taken the Billboard charts by storm. Their self-titled debut album reached the top 10 on Billboard album charts and top 15 on the Billboard heat-seeker charts.

Originally from Monaghan, Ireland, the group is composed of Darren Mulligan (lead vocalist), Kyle Williams (guitarist), Drew Kerxton (drummer) and Drake Kennedy (bassist). As of Monday, We Are Messengers' top-five songs in popularity on Spotify - "Maybe It's OK," "Power," "Magnify," "Point To You" and "Needing You Now" - have amassed more than 27 million downloads.

Saturday's show begins at 7 p.m.