Felton singer has great success at the Delaware State Fair

HARRINGTON – Felton guitarist and singer Quade Gannon is ready to make his dreams come true on a famous stage near his hometown.

He will round out the final night of the Delaware State Fair as one of the opening acts for the Turnpike Troubadours, which will take place on July 27 at 7 p.m. at the M&T Bank Grandstand.

The 2022 Lake Forest High School graduate will attend Hood College in Frederick, Maryland, where he will study criminal justice and play on the baseball team.

However, his goal is to become a professional singer and next week’s performance is a step in that direction.

“For me, it’s a lifelong dream come true to be able to stand on this stage for any length of time,” Gannon said.

Since his early youth he has been playing the guitar and singing and also tries his hand at the piano.

“I’ve been singing since I was 13 or 14,” he said. “What really got me into it was the fact that growing up, there was always an instrument in the house, whether it was a piano or a guitar. My dad played guitar in college, so his guitar was always nearby.”

These family influences are an important reason why he enjoys performing.

“My Uncle Tate, who inspires me a lot because he’s also been playing music my whole life, growing up, he was always playing guitar and making music,” Mr. Gannon said. “It was something we always did as a family.”

And this support is constantly growing.

“My family inspires me a lot because I know they all love listening to music,” he added. “And it’s great to see the music knowledge and the desire to absorb more music has increased. For example, my parents have been listening to more music and my sister listens to more music.”

Although he discovered his talent at a young age, Mr. Gannon said songwriting was the final piece of the puzzle for him.

“One of the biggest challenges for me was writing. Writing took a very, very long time,” he noted. “I started playing guitar and everything when I was 13 or 14, but I didn’t start writing anything for the first time until I was 17.”

Then, in April, he was finally able to write a song he really liked. He released “Homewrecker” and is seeing his hard work pay off.

“It was a very surreal feeling when it happened,” Mr. Gannon said. “I was in college when I released it. But seeing everyone at the college react to it was pretty cool.”

The song was recorded at his school among friends in a podcasting booth, so he wanted to celebrate with those who helped him prepare it for release.

“We were sitting in a dorm room until midnight, … me and a group of my friends, and we were all sitting on our phones, updating our Spotify and just waiting for something to happen,” he recalls.

Since then he has released three more titles and is working on more.

But he also wants to make the most of his appearances and hardly misses an opportunity to do so.

“When I get the chance, I do it,” Mr. Gannon said. “I really enjoy it and just have fun.”

Coincidentally, it was a concert at the State Fair that inspired him and his family to pursue his stage ambitions.

“I tell a lot of people that when I was 12 years old, the first time I saw someone play, I thought, ‘I want to do that,'” Gannon said. “I was sitting in the stalls, maybe two rows from the stage.”

Regarding the role of music in his future, he said, “I really want to make a career out of it. Right now I’m working a normal 7-to-3 job in the summer and being a full-time student, playing baseball and all sorts of things.”

However, he has now realized that the music industry here is not as big as elsewhere, for example in Nashville, Tennessee.

“The music scene here, aside from the shows at the State Fair, is very minimalist, especially in Kent County. There are only a handful of restaurants that offer live music or have a suitable venue for it.

“I hope I can inspire people to grow the live music culture here.”

Grandstand concerts

The Delaware State Fair, which opened Thursday, features a concert or event every night in the M&T Bank Grandstand:

• Thursday — Rick Springfield with Starship feat. Mickey Thompson at 7:30
• Friday — Jon Pardi with Walker Montgomery, 7:30
• Saturday — Ludacris with DJ Infamous, 7:30
• Sunday — Jordan Davis with Greylan James, 7:30
• Monday — Cooper Alan with Thomas Mac, 7:30
• July 23 – We, the Kingdom with Consumed by Fire, 7:30
• July 24 – Brantley Gilbert with Mike Ryan, 7:30
• 25 July — Trotting, 7
• July 26 — Demolition Derby, July 7
• July 27 — Turnpike Troubadours with Tyler Halverson and Quade Gannon, 7

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit delawarestatefair.com.