MANSFIELD – “Do we have any rednecks in this part of the woods?”
A resounding cheer from the stands at the Richland County Fairgrounds answered the question posed by country artist Joe Diffie at the beginning of his concert Tuesday evening.
Fans young and old from across the state of Ohio flocked to the Fairgrounds on Tuesday to hear Diffie, a multi-platinum-selling country artist with such hits as “Pickup Man,” “Third Rock From the Sun,” and “John Deere Green.” The singer has 13 albums and more than 20 top 10 singles to his credit.
Diffie hit his prime in the 1990s, with multiple singles dominating the charts during his hot streak. He recently became relevant to a brand-new generation of country music fans when Jason Aldean’s hit single “1994” on his 2013 album “Night Train” name-checked Diffie and many of his number-one hits.
Many concert-goers on Tuesday grew up with Diffie’s singles playing on their radio. Bellville natives Rex Hunter and Chris Currens said they enjoyed the throwback to their younger years.
“I grew up with his music,” Currens said. “We didn’t even know he was still touring.”
One super-fan of Diffie’s, Loretta Stearns, traveled from Columbus to the Richland County Fair’s show. Tuesday was Stearns’ 15th time seeing Diffie in concert.
“I used to hang out backstage with them at all their shows,” Stearns said.
A fellow Columbus resident, Jamie Kessler, was attending her first Diffie show with Stearns. She appreciated Diffie’s era of country music.
“I love old-school country music, it has meaning,” Kessler said. “The newer stuff isn’t really country, it’s more rock-and-roll.”
Perrysville native Grant Cowell was also looking forward to Diffie’s style of “old-school” country music. A lifelong Diffie fan, Tuesday was Cowell’s first time seeing the country artist in concert.
“I’m not even a big country music fan and I like Joe Diffie, this is actually country music,” Cowell said. “The younger generation doesn’t even know who the hell Joe Diffie is.”
Indeed, Cowell’s fellow concert-goer for the evening, 13-year-old Hallie Briscoe, had only heard Diffie for the first time Tuesday morning. According to her mother Buffie Briscoe, Hallie described it as “grandpa’s music.”
“I don’t really like country music but this is good,” Hallie said with a laugh. “I’m excited.”
