Sawyer Brown to headline 101st Phillips County Fair

It's hard to know where to start when talking about Sawyer Brown.

More than 4500 shows and counting. More than a million miles behind them and still seeing the highway miles click by outside their bus window. Twenty-three albums. More than 50 chart singles and CMA, ACM, and CMT awards on the shelf.

To pull a line from one of the band's enduring hits: "This is the life and times of a travelin' band." A traveling band, indeed. Always on the move-on the road, on stage, and in their career. When asked about what keeps him motivated on the road, lead singer Mark Miller says, "It's playing the next show. Be grateful for where you've been and be excited about where you're going."

Where the band is going this summer, one of many stops, is the 101st installment of the Phillips County Fair in Dodson on Friday, August 5 as the fair runs from August 4th to the the 7th this year.

"We couldn't be more excited about Sawyer Brown headlining at the Phillips County Fair," said Fair Board member Shane Anderson. "Last year, Clay Walker was the headlining act and he was a homerun. I think this year, with Sawyer Brown, we can expect another fantastic show."

That same excitement has been on display since the very first time Sawyer Brown stepped foot onstage in the early 1980s. Beginning as the road band for another singer, Sawyer Brown broke out on their own playing everything from clubs to pig roasts in those earliest days. "There's no such thing as a gig we wouldn't take," Miller laughs, remembering the beginning of the ride. "We knew that we wanted to play music and we knew that we wanted to work at being the best live band there was-and the only way to do that, was to get out and play shows. And so we did."

It would certainly be an understatement to say that Sawyer Brown has "played shows." The band has earned its place as one of the premier live acts in music. The band began by playing 275-300 nights a year for the first decade or more of its career-and has never come off the road. Tireless road warriors, the band thrives on playing live. "Live is where it all comes together for us," keyboardist Hobie Hubbard says. "The audience brings its own energy, we bring our own energy and the music-and the combination of all of that is what makes playing live so unique. It exists for that moment in time-you're either there, or you're not a part of that moment. We're blessed to be able to be a part of those moments night after night."

The band's live shows are legendary. Having been described as "the Rolling Stones of Country Music," the band bounds onto the stage night after night, delivering its own unique brand of high-energy entertainment, and the band remains a perennial favorite at fairs, festivals, theatres, and casinos. "We love getting to hear the stories of where people have seen us play-and the number of times they've seen us play," drummer Joe Smyth says. "For some, we're their weekend getaway-they've seen us all over the country. But we never lose sight of the fact that on any given night, it's going to be the first time someone's seen us-and that's exciting. We want that show, that night, to live up to everything they hoped for when they came to the show. Couldn't ask for better motivation."

Connection-with Sawyer Brown, the key is in forging those connections. "Every night we're on stage, I look at my brothers beside me on stage and think how blessed am I that I get to share the ride with these guys. And then I look out at the audience and I'm grateful that those folks have taken this ride with us," Hobie Hubbard says.

And it really does all come down to those people in the audience for this band. As Mark Miller says, "We're all this together-all of us. Just like the line in 'Travelin' Band" says, 'Now I want to take this time to thank you'-I wanted our fans to hear a thank-you coming straight from me." It is a thank-you that at this point literally hundreds of thousands of cheering fans have experienced not only on record, but at the band's legendary live shows as well. Known for their high-energy, no-holds-barred approach to the concert stage, the band continues to fill venues across the country with the same enthusiasm they have had from day one. "That's one thing that has never changed," says lead guitarist Shayne Hill. "The business part of the music business may be changing by the minute, but playing live is still about the same thing it's always been about: connecting to the audience right there in the moment."

Sawyer Brown is about connection. In fact, it's likely safe to say that connection continues to be the driving force of the band. As note connects to note, as singer connects to listener, as each mile of road connects to the one that follows it, the band senses-and forges-those connections every time they record and every time they hit the stage. "I'm a real believer that things happen for a reason-that they unfold the way they do because there's Someone bigger than us driving this bus," Miller says. "We know we've still have a lot of miles in us. We've got our bags packed, got our gear ready, and we've got plenty to sing about. We want see where the trip takes us next."