News

Johnny Holm Band rocks fair stage for fourth year in a row

By Tyler Ohmann

06/18/2013

For the fourth consecutive year the Bottineau County Fair welcomed the act of the Johnny Holm Band as the main entertainment attraction.

Since 2010 the band has played the Saturday show at the fair. It was their fifth time playing the fair overall as they played once back in the 80s.

“After we had them the first year I asked Johnny, ‘this might be a stupid question, but would you ever consider playing a venue a second year in a row?’” said fair board president David Hoff. “He said that they played a lot of venues five, 10 years in a row, so we’ve done it and it’s been a great show every time.”

“It’s one of those things that if its not broke, why fix it,” Hoff added.

And Holm enjoys playing in Bottineau as well.

“Number one the crowds here are great,” Holm said. “They’re all ages, challenging, fun people, down to earth, you know just a nice place.”

Normally the band would stay in Bottineau, and then go on to Williston, but Williston’s fair is next weekend and with Father’s Day tomorrow Holm said the band decided to go back home.

The band plays dozens of shows throughout the summer months, and most are outdoor shows like at the Bottineau County Fair. Holm thinks shows like that are special.

“My old bass player, who is a writer in Nashville is writing a song called ‘Minnesota Summer Nights’ and that’s what he thinks makes these shows special,” Holm said. “Because we don’t have summer in the midwest because of the four seasons, so I think that makes the summer shows so special.”

As for Bottineau specifically Holm thinks it is one of his favorite fairs.

“This is probably one of my favorite fairs,” Holm said. “We’ve had a lot of fun, talented people get on stage, and I started in North Dakota, so it’s kind of home to me.”

The Johnny Holm Band came on to the scene in the 80s in Fargo, but is now based out of Minneapolis, which makes for a long trek to get up to Bottineau.

“It’s a long trip, but it’s worth it,” Holm said. “There are some long trips you wouldn’t want to go to, but this one I definitely do.”

One big aspect that draws a big crowd is Holm’s involvement with the crowd. Saturday’s performance was no different as he brought several people on stage and also roamed the crowd encouraging fans to sing, dance and enjoy themselves.

“They are very good musicians, but he (Johnny) is a big part of it, because he is a very unique individual,” Hoff said. “He always does a good job involving people in the crowd, and people have always enjoyed it.”

The Johnny Holm Band consists of Holm, his daughter Jordan, drummer Scott Pearson, keyboard/guitars Jeff Downs, bass player Jeremiah Witucki and guitarist Jake Jackson.

They play a wide range of music, including current hits, country, oldies and other favorites.
Most of the band members play instruments and sing.

As for how many Bottineau County Fairs Johnny is going to do, he thinks he has some more left.

“I think I have a couple more,” Holm said about coming back to the Bottineau County Fair.

The crowd seems to sway his decision as the stands were packed for his show on Saturday for the fourth straight year.