Country’s Fanfest ’94 Warms Up Slowly : Music: Long lines and delays greeted fans at the start of the Pomona event. But those who stuck it out were rewarded with some fine live performances.

Country music fans are perhaps the most loyal and patient of all music fans. That’s a good thing for the organizers of Fanfest ’94 in Pomona, where those attributes were at times tested to the limit.

It wasn’t just the long lines at the Fairplex for star autographs--some fans waited for more than six hours to get Travis Tritt to sign copies of his new autobiography Thursday, par for the course in the country world.

Those who stuck it out during the four-day inaugural Southern California country festival modeled on the wildly successful annual Fanfare in Nashville were ultimately rewarded with some fine live performances, most notably Thursday’s headlining set in which Dwight Yoakam was joined by bluegrass great Ralph Stanley. But there were some glitches and snafus, especially on opening day Wednesday, which left even some of the most ardent country fans disappointed and disgruntled.

By Wednesday afternoon, Jim and Penny Watkins, from Fontana, had already decided that they would not return for the remaining three days, although they’d purchased $99 passes for the whole festival.

“I don’t care about the money, but when you prepare yourself for something good and don’t get it, it’s irritating,” said Jim Watkins, while sitting by the main music stage in the middle of the Fairplex racetrack at about 4 p.m., when only one of six scheduled music performances had taken place.

Bob Alexander, president of Fanfest Inc., the company putting on the event, acknowledged the problems and complaints as birthing pains of what he hopes will become a rival to the Nashville festival.

By Thursday evening, improvements were evident, both in the operation of the event and the mood of the fans and participants. The music, although running an hour behind schedule by Thursday night, kept moving pretty well thanks to a revolving double stage (take note, “Lollapalooza”) and the efficient “Hot Country Nights” TV show house band providing backing for short, crisp sets by country stars both new (Doug Stone) and old (Charley Pride).

Over in the pavilions, vendors selling everything from indoor Jacuzzis to salsa, for the most part seemed pleased with the setup, although some near the autograph tables were concerned about the lines blocking traffic to their booths. In general, a sense of optimism for the final two days of the fair ruled.

But it would be hard for any remaining musical act to top the set by Yoakam and Stanley. With Yoakam’s band providing mostly acoustic backing, the 35-minute set was a capsule lesson in both country roots and possibilities, combining bluegrass soul and verve with a sexy rock friskiness that stands apart from virtually any other act in the field.

* Fanfest ‘94, benefiting earthquake relief and the Feed the Children program, concludes today, beginning at 11 a.m. at the Fairplex facility, L.A. County Fairgrounds, 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona. Among the today’s performers are Tracy Lawrence and Toby Keith. (800) 550-3267. Tickets are $30.