Country group, The Lost Trailers, to perform at county fair

By Bennie Scarton Jr.

Published: August 5, 2008

After a year's absence from the grandstand stage at the Prince William County Fair, country music is back.

'The Lost Trailers," whose recording of "Holler Back" is in the top 10 "Billboard" Hot Country Songs, will give a concert for country fans on Monday at 8 p.m.

The opening act will be Richie Fields and his Big Time Country band from Marriottseville, Md., and Nashville, Tenn.

"We listened to our fans who said they missed our country music shows, and decided by popular demand to bring a show back," said Keith Johnson, fair manager.

Through the years, the fair has always brought upcoming country singers and acts during its run. The last performer was Andy Griggs in 2006.

"Both The Lost Trailers and Richie Fields fall into the category of future stars … and we are glad to book them here," Johnson said.

The Lost Trailers are

songwriter-guitarist-singer Stokes Nielson; lead singer-keyboardist Ryder Lee; guitarist Manny Medina, bassist Andrew Nielson and drummer Jeff Potter.

Nielson and Lee began writing and producing music together while both were still in high school. Their first album together was the self-issued "The Story of the New Age Cowboy" in 2000. Initially, the two worked with a bass guitarist and a drummer, forming a group know as Stokes Nielson & The Lost Trailers (later shorted to The Lost Trailers); the name was derived from the fact that the band's equipment trailers had been stolen on three separate occasions.

At the time, Nielson was also working as a disc jockey for a radio station in Nashville and in 2000 after an on-air interview with Willie Nelson, Stokes offered him a demo version of The Lost Trailers' material; Nelson then offered the band an opportunity to play at a Fourth of July picnic which he holds each year in Texas. Stokes assumed the role of songwriter and guitarist, with Ryder serving as

keyboardist and vocalist.

The band's membership was finalized with Stokes' younger brother, Andrew, as keys player, Potter as drummer and Medina as bassist. The band then gained a following through the Southeast and Texas, performing more than 200 shows yearly.

Their first major-label album was 2004's "Welcome to the Woods," issued on Universal/Republic. After switching to BNA Records in 2006, the band issued a self-titled effort, which produced the singles "Call Me Crazy" and "Why Me," both of which entered the charts. "Holler Back" has become the band's highest-charting single to date.

The 59th annual Prince William County Fair opens Friday and runs for nine days through Aug. 16. Other nightly grandstand shows include Truck and Tractor Pull on Friday and Saturday; Rodeo on Sunday; Corbin Blue on Tuesday; Demolition Derbies on Aug. 13, 14 and 15; and Freestyle Motorcross Jump Off on Aug. 16.

Staff writer Bennie Scarton Jr. can be reached at 703-369-6707.