Fair goers and fans crowded the doorways and sat on the grassy hills outside the arena to be part of the excitement.

Distinctive in their style and sound, fans young and old(er) clapped and cheered as the Oak Ridge Boys brought many of their award winning country and gospel hits and fan favorites to life on stage. Together 60 years and spanning more than five decades of musicmaking, original Oak Ridge Boys William Lee Golden and Duane Allen stood solid during Tuesday night’s performance along with new member Ben James. Unable to perform last night, Richard Sterban’s stand-in didn’t miss a beat with his deep bass and onstage presence.

Backed by fantastically talented musicians The Oakridge Boys percussive vocals during hits like Gonna Take A Lot of River, Trying To Love Two Women and Y’all Come Back Saloon grabbed the audience’s attention and had everyone toe tapping and singing along. After an awe-inspiring bass rendition of What A Wonderful World and a heart-string tugging solo of Thank God For Kids by William Lee Golden, who added “and grand kids” to the lyrics, it was time for some gospel greats songs. In soaring four part harmony the Oak Ridge Boys are famous for Come On In, How Great Thou Art, Come on Home and Slow Down Chariot, Let Me Ride. The songs had many of the concert goers on their feet.

A full-blown sing along erupted as the group had the entire audience stand as the Oak Ridge Boys sang one of their most timeless hits Elvira.

The Oak Ridge Boys are pictured performing. Photo by Ann-Marie Gariepy

Stories were told, history was shared and laughs were had. After more than 50 years there are a lot of memories and even though there were some on stage antics throughout the concert, such as the group joking with Ben James, who is singing on the American Made Farewell Tour in place of Joe Bonsall, the original Oak Ridge Boys singer who passed away in 2024 from ALS, that, “We got a kindergartner on the high school bus!”

Pictured is the crowd at the Warren County Fair for the Oak Ridge Boys performance Tuesday. Photo by Ann-Marie Gariepy

William Lee Golden of the Oak Ridge Boys is pictured singing during Tuesday’s performance at the Warren County Fair. Photo by Ann-Marie Gariepy