PHOTOS: Lady Antebellum, Phil Vassar rock the Great Jones County Fair

MONTICELLO – There are no turnstiles to count fair-goers and too many season tickets and free children admissions to know for certain, but fair officials in Jones County are pretty sure the crowd gathered for Lady Antebellum Thursday night was the biggest ever.

“We'll never really know for sure, but that had to have been the biggest crowd we've ever seen,” said John Harms, general manager of the Great Jones County Fair in Monticello.

The thousands that gathered for the country crossover group weren't disappointed.

Band members Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood opened with their first big hit, “Love Don't Live Here Anymore,” with the crowd on its feet and singing along. From that opening song to their encore cover of the Beatles' “Hey Jude,” Lady Antebellum kept the crowd standing and screaming.

The 8,000-seat grandstand area was packed, and fans filled the hillsides on both the north and south sides of the stadium to see or hear Lady Antebellum.  Hillside fans in camp chairs or blankets arrived hours ahead of the 8 p.m. concert to hold their place on the grounds, ignoring heat and humidity.

The Phil Vassar/Lady Antebellum concert was a virtual sellout the first day of ticket sales with just a few single tickets remaining. It didn't take long for those tickets to be sold, either, Harms said.

Threats of rain – small spurts of light sprinkles and consistent lightning – and even a power surge that caused all of the electricity on the fairgrounds to go off for about 15 seconds didn't stop the band or the crowd.

As power was being restored, the band broke into perhaps their biggest crossover hit, “Need You Now.” With limited electricity, the song started a capella.

“This is the song that changed our lives and I'm not leaving without singing it for you,” Kelley yelled to the crowd. Power came on during the song and musicians picked up flawlessly.

As much as the crowd appreciated Lady Antebellum, the mass of people didn't go unnoticed by band members, either.

“This is one big Iowa crowd tonight,” lead singer Charles Kelley told the crowd. “I'm pretty sure this is one of the largest crowds we've ever played for.”

Alan Jackson and The Band Perry take the stage in Monticello tonight.

Photos by Julie Koehn

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