Before setting off for the bright lights of Nashville, Tenn., in 1979, Kent Goodson grew up in Cape Girardeau, where he played with local musicians like Chuck McGinty, Greg Hopkins and the late Randy Leiner.

Now, Goodson is coming back to his hometown this fall and he's bringing a country music legend with him.

Goodson is the keyboard player and bandleader for George Jones, who will anchor the SEMO District Fair's lineup this fall along with Creedence Clearwater Revisited and Southeast Missouri native David Nail.

"It makes it extra-special," Goodson said of playing in Cape Girardeau, where he attended Central High School and graduated from Southeast Missouri State University. "It will be a pleasure to be there and maybe even see some people I grew up with or played music with through the years."

The 156th annual SEMO District Fair runs Sept. 10 to 17, with Jones performing Sept. 15, Creedence playing Sept. 16 and relative country music newcomer David Nail, who grew up in Kennett, Mo., playing Sept. 17. All of the shows begin at 8 p.m. Tickets go on sale for all of the grandstand shows July 21.

It won't be the first time that George Jones will perform his hits in Cape Girardeau. He and Tanya Tucker played the Show Me Center's first concert in August 1987. Goodson, who has played with Jones since 1982, remembers that show well.

"It was a full house," Goodson said.

For the Jones concert at the fair, Goodson said people can expect to hear the hits that made Jones famous and earned him the title "greatest American country singer." During his five-decade career, the man some know as the Possum sang a countless string of hits, including "White Lightning," "She Thinks I Still Care" and "He Stopped Loving Her Today."

"If they like the classic country hits that he's been playing since 1955, they're going to hear a whole lot of those," Goodson said.

Fair board president Pete Poe said Jones has been on their short list for several years. But Jones' management team could never fit the fair into his schedule until this year. Poe hopes that an act like Jones can come close to selling out all 3,500 tickets.

Poe was also pleased to get Creedence Clearwater Revisited, a band that includes some of the original members of the hit-making 1970s band Creedence Clearwater Revival, but not John Fogerty. Singer-songwriter David Nail rounds out the musical slate with contemporary country. Nail has released a few hits, including "Red Light" and "I'm About to Come Alive."

"We can't be all things to all people," Poe said. "But we hope to have something that a lot of people will enjoy, and obviously we hope our phone rings off that wall."

The fair will also feature a return of several favorites, including the tractor pull, demolition derby and Heartland Idol. But there are other firsts for this year's fair, including a monster truck show Sept. 12.

Poe also said he hopes to avoid a repeat of what happened last year, when Merle Haggard had to cancel when he was hospitalized. But Poe did say that Jones -- who at one point years ago was called "No Show Jones" for missing so many concert dates -- is much more reliable these days, after bouts with drug and alcohol abuse.

"He's a solid performer now," Poe said. "He's not No Show Jones anymore."

smoyers@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Arena Park, Cape Girardeau, MO