June 28, 1996

Sawyer Brown in tune with crowd

Dean Dickel

If Dubuque County Fair organizers were looking for a band with broad appeal to top off their series of country music entertainment, they made a wise choice in Sawyer Brown.

The Saturday night show drew a near-capacity crowd estimated at 8,500.

There were cowboy hats and blue jeans, at least one Hard Rock Cafe T-shirt, and toddlers ambling up the grandstand steps.

And they seemed to get along just fine.

Sawyer Brown, with its long list a familiar radio hits, sing lyrics that a tri-state audience can relate to.

"We want to do this song for the hardest-working people in the world," was how lead singer Mark Miller introduced "Cafe on the Corner."

The crowd could nod knowingly with the refrain: "They say crime don't pay, but neither does farming these days."

The show was laid-back except for a few of fans down front. One young man had his hair cut to form an "S.B." And, there was the woman chased from the area in front of the stage by Dubuque County Sheriff's deputies when she flailed her arms at the start of one song.

"We'd like to thank the lady who came down here and almost got arrested for dancing. I've never seen that before," Miller said.

For the most part, it was a good, old foot-stomping time. "That's what I like with the country shows - it's a lot more mellow," said Dedra Anderson, 32, of Zwingle, Iowa.

Trisha Steines, 26, of Springbrook, was looking forward to seeing the band for the second time and has been following them since their beginning in the early 1980s.

"I remember when they were on Star Search (with Ed McMahon). They won $100,000 and a record deal," Steines said.

Thirteen albums later, the band is still pleasing diverse audiences. "They put on a good show," Steines said.

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