Country favorites, Southern rock, classic rock and the unmistakable harmonies associated with one of country music’s legendary country and gospel  groups will all be part of the musical entertainment at the 2026 Chattooga County Agricultural Fair.

The fair opens Thursday, August 27, and continues through Sunday, August 30, in Summerville. While Thursday is opening night, the main musical lineup gets underway Friday and continues through Sunday. The fair’s current entertainment schedule lists Babe’s Bayou at 9 PM Friday, The Band Chickamauga at 7 PM Saturday, Lone Star Skynyrd at 9 PM Saturday and The Statler Experience at 6 PM Sunday. Fair organizers are reminding concertgoers to bring folding chairs for the performances.

Friday Night – Babe’s Bayou

Babe’s Bayou will kick off the weekend’s main musical entertainment Friday, August 28, at 9 PM.

The North Georgia band has been performing since 2002 and has built its reputation around the country music of the 1980s and 1990s. The current published band biography lists Ryan Coker on lead vocals, Matt Chambers on acoustic rhythm guitar, Matt Thornton on lead guitar, Dee Callihan on bass and Brad Thompson on drums.

Over the years, Babe’s Bayou has performed at venues across the Southeast and has shared stages with nationally known country acts including Shenandoah, Luke Bryan, Sammy Kershaw and Doug Stone.

The group also has original music to its credit. Babe’s Bayou released the 10-song album In the Blink of an Eye in 2008. Songs from the project include “Come Back,” “Wild Women,” “Who I Am,” “Run Away With My Heart,” “Redneckville” and the title track.

For fairgoers who grew up when artists such as George Strait, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn and other traditional country performers dominated country radio, Babe’s Bayou’s emphasis on ’80s and ’90s country should provide a familiar start to the weekend.

Saturday Night – The Band Chickamauga

Saturday’s music begins at 7 PM with The Band Chickamauga, a group already familiar to many Northwest Georgia music fans. The band appeared in Chattooga County earlier this summer, bringing a mixture of rock classics and Southern rock favorites to the Chattooga River Fest in Trion.

The group’s regional connections extend beyond Chattooga County. The Band Chickamauga was among the performers selected for Chattanooga’s Road to Nightfall competition, which showcases bands competing for an opportunity connected with the city’s long-running Nightfall concert series.

That makes Saturday’s opening performance a particularly local and regional part of the fair’s entertainment lineup, with a band whose music has already been heard by audiences around Northwest Georgia and the Chattanooga area.

Saturday Night – Lone Star Skynyrd

The volume turns up again at 9 PM Saturday when Lone Star Skynyrd takes the stage.

The Dallas, Texas-based group is devoted to recreating the music and concert experience of Lynyrd Skynyrd. The band’s repertoire includes some of the biggest songs in Southern rock history, including “Sweet Home Alabama,” “Gimme Three Steps,” “Simple Man,” “Tuesday’s Gone,” “That Smell,” “What’s Your Name” and, of course, “Free Bird.”

Lone Star Skynyrd describes its mission as reproducing the original band’s sound as faithfully as possible, including the three-guitar attack, strong rhythm section, lead vocals and female harmonies that were central to the classic Skynyrd sound. The group has been performing since 2017.

The tribute has earned national recognition as well. Lone Star Skynyrd was named Tribute Band of the Year at the 2022 Josie Music Awards, and the group says current Lynyrd Skynyrd vocalist Johnny Van Zant is among its supporters.

The current lineup listed by the band includes vocalist Steven Naylor, guitarists Craig Zerba, Mike Ceccarelli and Emanuele Moretti, drummer Ross Young, pianist Larry Ashby and bassist Fortune Phoenix.

Naylor, the group’s vocalist and bandleader, has said his interest in Lynyrd Skynyrd goes back to childhood, when his father owned the “Sweet Home Alabama” single. He later helped assemble musicians capable of reproducing the original recordings as closely as possible.

Saturday night’s show should be especially appealing to Southern rock fans, with a set built around music that has remained a staple of rock and country radio for more than half a century.

Sunday – The Statler Experience

The fair closes Sunday with a performance carrying one of country music’s strongest family legacies.

The Statler Experience, featuring Wilson Fairchild and Jack & Davis Reid, will perform at 6 PM Sunday, August 30. The show replaces the previously scheduled appearance by Guy Penrod, who had to cancel because of illness.

The performance brings together descendants of two members of The Statler Brothers.

Wilson Fairchild consists of cousins Wil Reid and Langdon Reid. Wil is the son of the late Harold Reid, while Langdon is the son of Don Reid. Harold and Don were members of The Statler Brothers, the legendary country quartet whose decades-long career produced hits including “Flowers on the Wall,” “Bed of Rose’s,” “The Class of ’57,” “Do You Know You Are My Sunshine” and “I’ll Go to My Grave Loving You.”

Wil and Langdon have been writing and performing together since their youth in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Their songs have also been recorded by performers including The Statler Brothers, Ricky Skaggs and Dailey & Vincent.

Wilson Fairchild’s connection to the Statler legacy goes far beyond performing their fathers’ music. In 2007, Wil and Langdon wrote “The Statler Brothers Song” as a tribute and performed it in connection with the Statlers’ Hall of Fame honors.

They remain active recording artists today. In April, Wilson Fairchild released American Songbook: Country Classics and Gospel Favorites through Gaither Music Group. The project includes their interpretations of songs such as “Amazing Grace,” “Always on My Mind,” “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “I Saw the Light” and “Lean on Me.”

But Sunday’s show goes another generation deeper.

Jack and Davis Reid are themselves descendants of the Statler Brothers. Jack is Wil Reid’s son and Harold Reid’s grandson, while Davis is Langdon Reid’s son and Don Reid’s grandson. The younger Reids have formed their own musical act and perform together, continuing the family’s musical tradition into a third generation.

The format planned for Summerville makes Sunday’s concert more than a conventional Wilson Fairchild performance. Jack and Davis are scheduled to open with their own high-energy set. Wilson Fairchild will follow with classics and original material before all four performers come together for four-part harmony on Statler Brothers favorites.

That means fairgoers will hear the Statler tradition carried from Harold and Don Reid, to their sons Wil and Langdon, and now to grandsons Jack and Davis.

Concerts Included With Fair Admission

The 2026 Chattooga County Agricultural Fair runs Thursday, August 27, through Sunday, August 30. Hours are 5 to 10 PM Thursday, 5 to 11 PM Friday, 2 to 11 PM Saturday and 2 to 9 PM Sunday.

General gate admission is $5, and the musical performances are included with fair admission. Students receive free gate admission Thursday, while active-duty and retired military personnel receive free admission with military identification Friday. Carnival rides are additional, with unlimited-ride armbands priced at $25 Thursday and $30 Friday through Sunday.

The musical schedule is:

Friday, August 28 – 9 PM: Babe’s Bayou
Saturday, August 29 – 7 PM: The Band Chickamauga
Saturday, August 29 – 9 PM: Lone Star Skynyrd
Sunday, August 30 – 6 PM: The Statler Experience featuring Wilson Fairchild and Jack & Davis Reid

Fair officials encourage those attending the concerts to bring a folding chair.