Competition fierce for county fair acts

By Hugo Martin

June 4, 2010 12 AM PT

When singer Pat Benatar rolls through Southern California this summer, she won’t be belting out her rock classic “Love Is a Battlefield” at the Orange County Fair.

Although the fair hoped to book Benatar to perform for the fourth time in the last five years, the operators of Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre snagged the ‘80s rock queen instead.

For Southern California’s county fairs, the music scene has also become a battlefield.

Carnival rides and deep-fried goodies lure children and teenagers, but musical acts such as Benatar are key to drawing adults with spending money to the county fairs.

This summer, for instance, the Orange County Fair will host Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, the B52s and ZZ Top.

The San Diego County Fair will feature Donna Summer, KC and the Sunshine Band, Kenny Loggins and Blue Oyster Cult.

The L.A. County Fair won’t reveal its entertainment list until July.

In the last decade or so, county fair operators in Southern California have faced increased competition from tribal casinos and other concert venues that hope to cash in on the continued popularity of ‘70s and ‘80s classic rock and pop bands.

“The marketplace has changed because there are so many venues,” said Dale Coleman, vice president of sales and marketing for the Fairplex in Pomona, home of the L.A. County Fair.

For example, the Agua Caliente Casino Resort and Spa in Rancho Mirage opened a 2,028-seat concert hall in February that this summer will feature Jackson Browne, REO Speedwagon and Ringo Starr -- staples of county fair concerts.

Other new venues vying for Southern California’s lucrative concert business include the 3,100-seat outdoor pavilion built in 2004 by the Morongo Band of Mission Indians in Cabazon and the 7,100-seat Nokia Theatre opened in 2007 by AEG Live at the L.A. Live entertainment complex in downtown Los Angeles.

As a result of the added competition, county fairs must often pay higher rates to book musical acts or face the risk of losing out to a nearby competitor. According to fair officials, bands that earned as little as $30,000 for a performance in the past can now take in more than $100,000 per show.

Fair officials also have less flexibility than other concert venues because the fairs have only three or four weeks of dates to fill in the summer.

“You win some, you lose some,” said Steven Beazley, executive officer of the Orange County Fair & Events Center, home of the Orange County Fair.

For example, the Orange County Fair lost Benatar to the Greek Theatre, but the theater lost out on booking the English group Bad Company to the fair for a show July 17, according to Greek Theatre executives.

And money isn’t always the deciding factor. Sometimes bands choose one gig over another because the members prefer indoor venues to outdoor stages.

“Sometimes it is dictated by the capacity of the venue and sometimes on what serves the career of the musician best,” said Alex Hodges, chief operating officer for Nederlander Concerts, which operates the Greek Theatre, the Grove of Anaheim and the Pantages Theatre, among other venues.

Complicating matters, venue operators often book musical acts with the understanding that the group will not perform elsewhere in the area within a certain time -- a requirement called a “radius clause.”

Such restrictions are crucial because the county fairs typically charge as little as half as much as the large concert venues. Often, entry to the fair concerts is included with the price of admission. But for an extra $20 or $30 fairgoers can get a box seat, whereas seats at large concert halls can start at $60 or more.

Occasionally the fairs collaborate with other music venues to book the same bands.

For example, the Agua Caliente Casino and the L.A. County Fair worked out an agreement so both could book the ‘70s pop duo Hall & Oates, said Steve Macfadyen, entertainment director for the casino.

He said the casino booked the group for Oct. 2 while the fair booked the band for its End of Summer Concert series between Sept. 4 and Oct. 3.

Under an agreement between the two venues, Macfadyen said, the casino promised not to advertise the casino show west of Interstate 215, in territory close to the fair.

A spokeswoman for the L.A. County Fair declined to comment on Hall & Oates.

For fair operators, the payoff comes when a band draws large crowds of fans who come for the concert but stay to spend money on food, drinks and carnival attractions. Last year Three Dog Night, a band that has not had a pop chart hit in decades, drew about 7,000 fans at the Orange County Fair.

The competition is fierce because the fair operators, the tribal casinos and the large concert halls are pursuing the same target audience -- people who grew up on ‘70s and ‘80s rock and pop music and now earn a comfortable salary.

“Rock ‘n’ roll and classic rock is really the bread and butter of the fair,” Beazley said.

That explains why, since 1987, the San Diego County Fair has booked Joan Jett four times, Grand Funk Railroad four times and REO Speedwagon three times.

“You want to have a reputation of bringing quality acts to the fair, but it has to make financial sense,” said Rebecca Bartling, chief operating officer for the Del Mar Fairgrounds, home to the San Diego County Fair.

Rich Page of Los Angeles, a classic rock fan who dedicated a website to the subject (www.classicrockersnetwork.com), said music from the 1970s and 1980s is popular because it lets people who grew up in that era relive their youth.

“And what better way to do that than by going to see an old favorite band that brings back those memories,” he said.

Ryan Dickey, 36, of Newport Coast said he had attended a few concerts at the Orange County Fair because the location was convenient and ticket prices were reasonable. Last year he attended a performance by the English pop band Duran Duran.

“That’s what I grew up with,” he said, “and what I still like to listen to.”

hugo.martin@latimes.com

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Southland county fairs

Five Southern California counties are staging annual fairs this summer.

SAN DIEGO COUNTY FAIR

June 11 to July 5 (closed June 14, 21 and 28)

Website: www. sdfair.com/fair/

Location: Del Mar

Theme: Taste the Fun

Information: (858) 755-1161

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY FAIR