A previous version of this story stated Jack Yegge was born and raised in Warren County. While he was a longtime resident of the county he was born in Illinois. The Record regrets the error. 

Concerts are returning to the Warren County Fair this year with country acts Byrdie Wilson and Ty Herndon opening, followed by Montgomery Gentry on Saturday, July 5. 

Although she was born in Long Island, N.Y., Wilson grew up in Greenville S.C. and now lives in Nashville, Tenn., Wilson also has strong roots in Warren County. 

Wilson’s grandfather, Jack Yegge was a longtime Warren County resident and she recounted all the times she came to visit when she was younger. 

Unfortunately, Yegge passed away in December 2024 but Wilson plans to honor his memory during her upcoming performance. 

“It’s like a full circle moment, because I grew up visiting my grandpa, and going shooting with him and going fishing with him in Warren County,” said Wilson. “So I think it’s really, really special.”

Wilson will start her performance at 6:45 p.m. on the main stage at the Warren County Fairgrounds, followed by Herndon at 8 p.m. and Montgomery Gentry at 9:30 p.m. Tickets for the concert are $30 for adults, $15 for children and children four years and under are free. 

She first had aspirations of a music career when she was 14, writing songs and getting involved with musical theater. Those aspirations continued to grow as she continued to write music. 

“I wrote all of these songs about how I was going to fall in love with somebody at the age of 16, and then how they were going to leave me when I was 19 years old,” said Wilson. “I don’t know why, it was like the craziest thing, but I must have written 40-50 songs about this.”

As it turned out, she did meet someone when she was 16, her boyfriend Zeke, and they were together through struggles including moving away from her mother to live with her dad. During this time Wilson said she stopped writing. 

The pair were together for roughly two years, according to Wilson, before Zeke tragically took his own life in 2020. Moved by the loss, Wilson began writing again, and moved back in with her mom. She committed herself to her music career. 

She moved to Nashville and began calling to every venue she could find to perform, even to the point she said some bookers actually blocked her email. She did get one yes, and started performing with the Tin Roof in Memphis. Wilson’s career took off from there. 

Now she travels the country performing with her band, but she still looks back to the difficult times in her life that motivated her to keep moving forward. 

“I’ve been getting songs produced, collaborating with other artists and writing songs and doing co-writes,” said Wilson. “So it’s really, really amazing to see how such a terrible thing can turn into a really beautiful one.”

She had another one of those full circle moments at her grandfather's funeral in December, where a beautiful opportunity was borne out of tragedy. 

Wilson was performing at the funeral and one of the attendees was Lloyd Wideman, a member of the Warren County Fair Board. She said Wideman gave his condolences and then two weeks later when she was home, she received a call asking her to perform at the fair. 

“Again, how a terrible thing can turn into such a beautiful thing,” said Wilson. “That’s like my motto for life and I live by it.”

Wilson also plans to honor Yegge at the fair. His cowboy hat will join her on stage on a mic stand, as if he is there with her when she performs. 

She was also excited to announce she has been named as one of 10 finalists for Colossal’s America’s Next Top Hitmaker competition. The winner will receive the opportunity to perform at the 2025 Global Citizen Festival, raising money to combat global poverty, along with $50,000 and an appearance in Rolling Stone magazine. She asked fans to vote for her at https://tophitmaker.org/2025/byrdie-wilson. 

She said she draws inspiration from artists like Maren Morris and Lainey Wilson and is now focused on finding her sound. Country music fans in Warren County can expect a very energetic performance from Wilson and her band. 

She said although they tend to skew more towards a “feminine, sassy,” audience, she thinks they have something for everyone. 

“It’s going to be a really special show,” said Wilson.