Journal-Advocate (Sterling)

Craig Morgan to headline Night Show

Ned Ladoux, son of country music legend Chris Ladoux, to open for Morgan

- By Sterling Journal-advocate journaladv­ocate@dfmdev.com

Nashville artist Craig Morgan will headline the 2024 Logan County Fair Tallgrass Night Show on Aug. 3. Ned Ladoux, son of country music legend Chris Ladoux, will open the show.

Announceme­nt of this year’s Night Show lineup was made during a Business After Hours announceme­nt party at Logan County Chamber of Commerce Friday evening.

A multi-faceted entertaine­r, Morgan has made a name for himself as a country music icon,

TV personalit­y, author, celebrated outdoorsma­n and patriotic Army veteran.

Appearing with Morgan will be singer/songwriter Ned Ledoux, whose songs bring our nation’s western culture to life.

When his musical career took off a couple of decades back, Craig Morgan made the difficult decision to leave the military a little before he had completed 20 years’ service. In late July 2023, Morgan was performing at the Grand Ole

Opry when he re-enlisted in the Army Reserve, bringing his two worlds together and making a public commitment to see his unfinished business through.

“The Grand Ole Opry epitomizes country music and I have been a soldier most of my life. It just made sense to bring these two things together,” Morgan said. “Enlisting again in the Army Reserve was a great opportunit­y to finish something I started many years ago and get my 20-year letter that says I served my country.”

Having previously served as a staff sergeant and fire support specialist with the Army’s 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions, Morgan brings valuable experience to the Reserve for incoming recruits. The obligation­s are minimal, he says — one weekend out of a month and two weeks in a year — and could mean anything from doing drills to speaking engagement­s. “If I can do it, anybody can

do it,” he says.

Just as the Army has called on Morgan, he has called on some of his talented friends to contribute to his latest project. Appropriat­ely titled “Enlisted,” the six-track release on the Broken Bow Records label offers new takes on four of the Tennessee native’s biggest hits along with two new tracks and appearance­s by Trace Adkins, Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, Gary Levox, Blake Shelton, and Lainey Wilson.

Morgan has amassed more than 1.5 billion career streams and charted over 25 songs on Billboard, thrilling massive crowds with signature hits including “Bonfire,” “Almost Home,” “Redneck Yacht Club,” “Internatio­nal Harvester,” “This Ole Boy,” “Soldier,” “That’s What I Love About Sunday” and his faith-filled tribute to his son Jerry, “The Father, My Son and The Holy Ghost.”

As a songwriter, Ned Ledoux has a knack for bringing people, places, and emotions vibrantly to life with his insightful lyrics, and warm, strong voice that makes him sound like a beloved friend you always want to hang out with. Those gifts are fully on display on Ledoux’s new album Buckskin.

“I’m writing my own story and if people take a liking to it, that’s wonderful,” Ledoux said. “As long as I’m writing from the heart, and writing about what I know, I can definitely listen back to it and be proud.”

On his third full-length album, Ledoux again delivers songs that transcend mere entertainm­ent to celebrate a life that many aspire to, but few live. Like his father, Ledoux’s music is as expansive as the western sky he was raised under and celebrates the ranch lifestyle that is such an integral part of his heritage. There is an authentici­ty to his songs that brings our nation’s beloved western culture to life, even for listeners who have never ventured onto the Great Plains.

“I’m proud to carry on the tradition and a lot of songs that I write are going to relate with songs that my dad wrote and recorded because I lived the same life,” he said. “I was born and raised on a ranch, which my family still owns outside of Kaycee, Wyo. That was my life, and it is reflected in the songs I write.”

After the season ticket sales period, tickets for the Night Show — and all other Logan County Fair grandstand events — will go on sale to the public at 8 a.m. on April 1. Tickets are available for purchase at www. lcfair.org, by calling 970522-0888, or in person at the commission­ers’ office in the Logan County Courthouse.

 ?? ?? Ned Ladoux
Ned Ladoux
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Craig Morgan

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