Chris Daughtry

Is that the face of a tyrant? I think not!

What gives, Lor?

In her scathing tirade against Chris Daughtry and other rock stars playing this year’s Midland County Fair, she comments that, since Daughtry was on the bill with 2 other acts that night, the band was out of line requesting their own space to prepare for the show.

“On the bill”?! He was the headliner! How much did Daughtry rake in for your county anyway? I hear that he was “the draw of choice for the crowd of some 5,000.”

As for their request for large trash cans - yes, I agree with you Lori - they have been places. And many of them were probably dirty and disgusting places. County fairs, in fact, with their ever-spreading swamps of litter, seem to be just those kinds of places, actually.

Further on, she complains of his list of requested items (Coke, a banana, microwavable chicken breast - none of it outlandish). Does she have any idea what life on the road is like? I don’t, but I imagine it’s grueling.

He has a wife and two children at home and he has to go from town to town and put on his best show for hundreds or thousands of us each night. The man deserves a little slack, don’t you think? Certainly some chicken without spicy coatings that can harm his voice.

His voice is his instrument. So is a clear and focused mind and a relaxed and energized body. Without those things, he can’t do his job. His job is to entertain. The job of the fair organizers is to see to it that he can do it well.

If they don’t like it, they can find different jobs. This Tom Valliere, fair manager, seems to have a gripe with his job, not Daughtry. Don’t misdirect your displeasure with your job, Tom. Just quit your job. Find one that doesn’t involve keeping the people who bring your town money happy, maybe.

I call upon all county fair, conference hall, and performance arena workers to write in and share your backstage experiences with Chris. Was he as incorrigible as Ms. Qualls’ article paints him out to be or as courteous and unassuming as we’ve always seen him to be?

You report. We’ll decide.

Chris Daughtry, Daughtry, Midland County, County Fair, live in concert