Sam Hunt at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds -- August 1.
Tuesday, August 1, 8 p.m.
Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, 2815 West Locust Street, Davenport IA
A five-time Grammy nominee whose accolades also include two Academy of Country Music Awards, a CMT Music Awards, and even a Teen Choice Award from seven nominations, singer/songwriter Sam Hunt, on August 1, serves as the opening headliner for this year's Mississippi Valley Fair's grandstand acts, the artist's chart-topping hits including "Leave the Night On," "Take Your Time," "House Party," and "Body Like a Back Road."
Prior to his successful solo career, 38-year-old Georgia native Hunt was credited for writing singles for Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Billy Currington, and Reba McEntire. His debut studio album, 2014's Montevallo, broke several chart records with five singles spawned from the LP, including three consecutive Hot Country Songs chart and four Country Airplay chart number-ones. The lead single from the album, "Leave the Night On," peaked concurrently on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, making Hunt the first country artist in 22 years, since Billy Ray Cyrus, to reach the top of three country charts simultaneously in the Nielsen SoundScan-era. He is also the first country artist since Clint Black to occupy both year-end number one album and single with Montevallo and "Take Your Time." The fifth single "Make You Miss Me," also from Montevallo, hit number one on the Country Airplay chart, thus making Hunt the first solo male artist to land four number ones on the Country Airplay chart from a debut studio album.
Following the success of Hunt's debut album, the artist sporadically released several singles before the debut of his second studio album, 2020's Southside. In the years between those recordings, Hunt released the massive hit "Body Like a Back Road," "Downtown's Dead," and "Drinkin' Too Much." The track "Hard to Forget" was released to coincide with the beginning of Southside pre-orders, and after the work debuted, reviews were as complimentary as they were with Montevallo. Writing for Rolling Stone, Jon Freeman highlighted the "thread of sensitivity" in Southside and opined that the album made Hunt "a crossover star." Chris DeVille of Stereogum positively compared the album to Montevallo, praising how the former contains "ever more adventurous packaging and a more seasoned perspective." Pitchfork's Natalie Weiner, meanwhile, stated that Southside "shows a clarity of purpose," while also praising Hunt's "enviably organic" way of threading "the country/hip-hop needle."
Sam Hunt performs his Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds set at 8 p.m. on August 1, and $85-110 MVF Fun Cards are required for admittance into any and all Grandstand concerts this summer. For more information on the concert and the Mississippi Valley Fair, call (563)326-5338 and visit MVFair.com.
