Music events ring in the summer

The Sounds of Summer are tuning up to make Churchill County a melodious venue for musical groups at both the Oats Park Centennial Stage and the annual Fallon Cantaloupe Festival and Country Fair.

Bring your chairs to the park on Saturday for a Father’s Day performance on June 17. Paul Thorn’s show begins at 7:30 p.m.

Thorn was born in Tupelo, Miss., and nurtured by the young Elvis generations that came before him.

Among those who value originality, inspiration, eccentricity and character – as well as talent – the story of Thorn is already familiar.

Born the South, Thorn made some of the most emotionally restless yet fully accessible music of our time. He’s appeared multiple times on the Billboard Top 100.

This free performance is presented in cooperation with the mayor, city council and city of Fallon.

A week before the Fallon Cantaloupe Festival and Country Fair begins at the Rafter 3C Complex, Blair Crimmins & The Hookers appear Aug. 19 at 7 p.m. on the Centennial Stage. Crimmins began his current music career in Atlanta with a determination to bring Ragtime and 1920s style Dixieland Jazz to new audiences.

A multi-instrumentalist and music academic, Crimmins writes songs and arrangements for a classic New Orleans style horn section consisting of trumpet, clarinet and trombone. This free performance is also presented in cooperation with the mayor, city council and city of Fallon.

The Fallon Cantaloupe Festival’s lineup opens on Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. with Queensrÿche, an American progressive metal band from Bellevue, Wash. Queensrÿche has released 16 studio albums, one EP and several DVDs.

During the band’s history, it touts building a legion of fans who also follow the music of Guns N’ Roses, Metallica and Def Leppard, to name a few.

For the country western crowd, Ned LeDoux plays Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. in the Rafter’s arena. LeDoux recently appeared in Elko.

The Kaycee, Wyo., native is following in the steps of his late father, Chris LeDoux, a rodeo star in the 1970s and 80s. After Chris LeDoux retired from rodeo, he began his musical career in the 1980s.

Ned LeDoux was born in Kaycee, Wyo., the hometown of his father. Kaycee is a small town in the north-central part of the state and has under 250 residents. The younger LeDoux began playing drums in his father’s band, and he also recorded material in 2015.

Opening for LeDoux is Justin Lee, a performer with Nevada roots including some that have been placed in Churchill County.

Lee began writing songs as teenager and has mastered his craft with some of the top Nashville producers, engineers, songwriters and musicians. Six years ago, Lee released the single, “Like I’ve Fallen.”

He has become a known name in the country music scene in northern Nevada and California. He has opened for artists such as Eric Paslay, The Band Perry, Jake Owen, Dustin Lynch, Parmalee, Love & Theft, Sammy Kershaw and Marc Chesnutt.

For tickets to see any musical act or attend the festival, go to go to https://aftontickets.com/falloncantaloupefestival.