Fair Board Announces Headliner and Opening Acts

The Phillips County Fair Board announced that Randall King, rising country artist, for the Night Show at the Phillips County Fair on Saturday, August 3rd at Dodson Montana. The longest continuous running Fair in Montana will open the gates at 6 p.m. and begin a night of country western music, with youth on its side.

Born in 1991, King used to run around the house singing so much that his dad decided as long as he was going to sing, they may as well buy him a guitar, and that was the beginning of his career. King was born in Texas, and attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. He started college with a business major and minored in music.

He said, "My first semester, I tore it up, almost made the Dean's list and then second semester, I started writing songs and really writing and focusing on it. I ended up staying in my dorm room, writing and missing class and I failed out of tech, because I lost interest in it."

He spent his time in the honky tonks, and ventured to Nashville in 2015; he signed with Warner Music in September of 2019.

In 2020, he went on to play socially-distanced sold-out shows. It was then he released his EP in honor of his late sister, Leanna. King said, "The debut album, Shotglass, had a song, "You In A Honky Tonk" on the record; in 2022, which song blew wide open in the social world and the streaming social world, and set us on fire."

Hailing from Texas, King now makes his home in Nashville. He attributed his music interests and influence to the greats in country music, including George Strait, Merle Haggard, Keith Whitley, Hank Sr. and Hank, Jr. He attributes influence of greats like Alan Jackson and Marty Stuart, as well.

He said his father was also +one of the people who inspired him to "chase his dreams". King said, "I told my daddy that I wanted to play music and he says goes, 'okay, we're going to speak it into existence. We're going to manifest it and write a bucket list, and write out your goals of all the places you want to play in your life." He added they had crossed out places including the Grand Ole Opry. "There's one written down that still ain't checked off, and that's Madison Square Garden in New York City."

Opening for King will be Braxton Keith, another new, young and upcoming artist in the country music genre. Also a Texan from birth, Keith was influenced by several names that many readers are familiar with including Marty Robbins and Merle Haggard.

Keith states he doesn't just play country music. He lives it. He writes songs that blend modern sounds with the best elements of old-school country music. It is a balance of the contemporary and the classic, glued together by a proud Texas native who's learned to create autobiographical music about the universal experiences. "These songs are about love, heartbreak, and drinking, which are things everybody knows about."

"I'm not the only person to write songs about those things. But I'm the only person to do it my way."

His hit songs, "A Little Bit Closer" and "Give Me a Sunrise," or a song with fiddles and electric guitars like "Honky Tonk City," will have you tapping your boots keeping time and longing for more.

His bus makes its way across the nation, setting him and his band up night after night, year after year. Perhaps it's a long road, but Keith doesn't mind the drive, he's here for the long haul. Besides, he'll be writing new songs every step of the way. One of those songs might be about his visit to the Phillips County Fair in Dodson, Montana. After all, some of the great legends got a foot in the doorway with their visit and impression on Phillips County.

Before you enjoy these two artists, make sure you show up on time for the opening entertainment of the night, Tanner Laws. No stranger to the Dodson stage, returning once again, by popular demand, Laws is gearing up to once again entertain fans with his own music with his band and the energy that both the young and not-so-young have come to enjoy.

Setting out on a musical career in 2021, he keeps building his career on energetic music that appeals to a wide and varied audience. He performs "Freezer Full", "Liquored Up", "I Love Drinking With You", and "Bread and Water".

In 2023, Laws won Songwriter of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and Local Vocalist of the Year at the Northwest CMA Awards. He has opened for artists like Dustin Lynch, Clint Black, Sam Barber, Marty Stuart and The Wilder Blue.

Laws will be bringing his band that has undoubtedly pleased the crowds more than once in Dodson.

It's going to be a great evening of entertainment, again, at the 109th Phillips County Fair.