Fair Manager Jordon Bennett announced that Joe Diffie will perform at the 2019 Harney County Fair. The country star will grace the stage Saturday, Sept. 7, at 8:30 p.m. at the Harney County Fairgrounds.

With the release of Jason Aldean’s hit 1994, which name-checked many of Diffie’s 12 number one hits, the legendary singer found himself squarely back in the hearts and minds of country fans. The multi-platinum-selling artist who dominated the charts during a hot streak in the ‘90s may have been absent from the radio charts for the past few years, but Joe-Joe-Joe Diffie has never slowed down — writing, touring, and recording a myriad of projects including his critically acclaimed 2010 bluegrass album Homecoming, his Roots And Boots acoustic tour, and collaborative CD All In The Same Boat with fellow hit-makers Sammy Kershaw and Aaron Tippin. And now he’s back at it again, riding shotgun with hick-hop sensations The Jawga Boyz on a brand new single Girl Ridin’ Shotgun, which was released to country radio.

The single — co-written by Diffie, Phil O’Donnell, and Derek Thrasher of The Jawga Boyz — is a fun, up-tempo romp perfect for summertime cruising, and it returns Diffie to the country charts where he undoubtedly belongs. The performance features D. Thrash (Derek Thrasher) on the verses as Diffie’s signature vocals soar on the choruses and verses. The tune was written in part as an answer to Jason Aldean’s tribute to Diffie (penned by Thomas Rhett, Luke Laird, and Barry Dean) and name-checks Aldean in a nod to the monster hit that helped introduce Diffie to a whole new generation of fans two decades later.

With chart-toppers like Pickup Man, Third Rock From the Sun, and John Deere Green, 13 albums, and more than 20 Top 10 singles to his credit, Diffie has little to prove at this point in his career, yet he still has a fire in his belly to make good country music. A renowned songwriter in his own right who recently turned his focus back to writing after years on the road, Diffie has hits for artists like Tim McGraw, Conway Twitty, and Jo Dee Messina to his credit, and has cuts on upcoming projects for X Factor winner Tate Stevens, Dylan Scott, and Tyler Farr, among others. He is also hard at work on an album of brand new material, due out later this year on Bigger Picture Records. The collaboration with the Jawga Boyz and the attention from the Aldean hit is opening all sorts of new doors for Diffie at this point in his career, and he’s excited at the prospect of working with some of music’s hot new hit-makers.

“We had a good time writing and recording my new song, Girl Ridin’ Shotgun, and making a video for it,” Diffie said. “I’ve been writing with a lot of new artists, and I never thought that collaboration with one of them would lead to this, but I’m really glad that it has. It’s a different sound for me, and I’m having so much fun with it all. I can’t wait to see what the future brings!”

Tickets go on sale Friday, May 24. Tickets are $30 for front of stage and $15 for a reserved grandstand seat.

Event sponsors include ACW (Andy & Jana Root), Burns Ford Inc. (Ted and Angela Marshall), Clearwater Pump & Irrigation (Matt and Katie Nonnenmacher), C&B Sanitary (Rod and Karen Dinsmore), Ebar Oil Co. (John & Rosanne Ebar), and Robbins Equipment III (Kris and Maranda Robbins).