ACM award winner Blake Shelton; special guest James Otto to appear at 2010 Fair

Spencer, Iowa – The Clay County Fair welcomes rising country superstar Blake Shelton, with special guest James Otto, to perform on Saturday, September 18 at 7:30 p.m. in front of the grandstands.

A native of Ada, Oklahoma, Shelton found his love for music at an early age. He spent his youth singing at various country music shows around his hometown. At age 17, Shelton packed up and moved to Nashville to pursue a recording career.

After several years on the scene, Shelton finally broke through with a debut single entitled “Austin”. The song went to spend five weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Following on the heels of “Austin”, Shelton released a self-title album that garnered the hit songs “All Over Me” and “Ol’ Red”.

The country artists’ streak continued with his second album release entitled The Dreamer. This album eventually earned gold certification with its hits “The Baby”, “Heavy Liftin’” and “Playboys of the Southwestern World”. Shelton’s third album release, Blake Shelton’s Barn & Grill became his third straight album to reach the Top Three on the country charts. Hit songs included “Some Beach”, “Goodbye Time” and “Nobody but Me”.

In 2007, Shelton released the album Pure BS, which included the songs “Don’t Make Me” and “The More I Drink”. Shelton re-released the album in 2008 with three bonus tracks including the popular song “Home”, which covered Michael Buble’s hit single. 

Most recently, Shelton has gained air-play for his Number One hit album Hillbilly Bone. The lead-off single and title track, “Hillbilly Bone”, includes a duet with country star Trace Adkins. In April, the duo won an Academy of County Music Award for Vocal Event of the Year on their collaboration.

Special guest James Otto will with appear with Shelton at the 2010 Clay County Fair.

Born into a military family, Otto spent much of his childhood living in various locations around the country. His ties to music ran deep early on, as both his grandfather and father were part-time musicians. It wasn’t until 1998 though, when Otto seriously pursued his music career by moving to Nashville.

While in Nashville, Otto got acquainted with a group of writers and musicians known as the MuzikMafia. The group, which included country stars Big & Rich and Gretchen Wilson, had a CMT reality show entitled MuzikMafia TV. It was through the show that Otto gained exposure and eventually a record deal. After the release of a 2002 record, Days of Our Lives, Otto appeared in the small-screen movie, Road House 2.

In 2007, Otto signed with Warner Bros. Records Nashville and released the hit single “Just Got Started Lovin’ You”, which reached Number One on BillboardHot County Songs chart. The album, Sunset Man, produced two other singles, “For You” and “These Are the Good Ole Days”.

In 2008, Otto was commissioned to perform a new theme song for the Atlanta Braves entitled, “The Braves Play Here”. He also co-wrote Jamey Johnson’s mid-2008 single, “In Color” which was nominated for a Grammy for Best County Song and Academy of Country Music Award for Song of the Year.

Grandstand mail-in and online ticket sales begin June 21, 2010. All mail-in and online ticket orders received between June 21 and July 3 will be filled in random order with the best available seating. Phone ticket orders will begin July 12, 2010. The Grandstand Box Office will begin window ticket sales on July 19, 2010. 

The 2010 Clay County Fair runs September 11-19. For more information visit www.claycountyfair.com or call 712-262-4740.