HEMPSTEAD, Texas – The Waller County Fair and Rodeo is an investment into the community and into future generations.

As always, finding ways to benefit area youth is foremost in the minds of the members of the Waller County Fair Association, which organizes the annual exposition, but there’s so much more that goes into producing an event of this caliber. The fair board continues to make that investment, and county residents reap the rewards.

“I actually went to the board this year request an increase to our budget to help us get top-of-the-line acts for our concerts,” said Michelle Gaston, chairwoman of the fair’s entertainment committee. “We wanted to up our game a little bit on the entertainment. It takes a little more for that first weekend to have two headliners, and the board supported us.”

The proof is in the overall lineup for the nine-day expo, which kicks off with a double play of Texas Country/Red Dirt music Saturday, Sept. 27. The evening begins with singer/songwriter Chaser Crouch of Corsicana, Texas, performing at 6 p.m. in the Wagon Wheel. As for the headliners, William Clark Green will open the evening at 9 p.m., sharing his Lubbock, Texas-flavored artistry before yielding to Southall at 11 p.m.

“We have long awaited the opportunity to have William Clark Green take the stage at the Waller County Fair,” Gaston said. “To have Southall with us is just icing on the cake.”

To bake something that special, it takes a little more dough, which is why Gaston and the fair board agreed to increase the stakes.

“We’ve always been able to raise the money with our cornhole tournaments and different sponsors, but to get acts like this, it took just a little bit extra,” Gaston said. “We’re always trying to find the up-and-coming artists. Last year we had Hudson Westbrook, and look at him now: He’s breaking into the charts. It’s fun when we can find some of those up-and-coming artists and bring them in.”

Things become a little more traditional when the PRCA rodeo hits town, with the Thursday, Oct. 2, opening performance being led off by Cole Annoot at the Wagon Wheel and Neal McCoy closing the night on the big stage. With Matt Mercado opening, Gen Xers will live their youth with McCoy’s distinguished voice and tunes like “No Doubt About It” and “Wink.”

“Matt is a local kid who grew up and still lives in Waller, and he’s being sponsored by Buckshot’s Roadhouse and Cattleman’s,” Gaston said. “We have another Waller County kid starting the night out at the Wagon Wheel, so why not bring back one of the most popular acts we’ve had at the fair with Neal McCoy?”

Another local, Sloan Gatlin, will open the Wagon Wheel on Friday, Oct. 3, while Texas Country entertainer Trent Cowie will begin the stage show, opening the door for Josh Weathers.

“You’d better be prepared to dance that Friday night away,” Gaston said. “You don’t want to miss this show. We’re expecting to do well with Josh Weathers, and we’re excited to bring in Kate Watson as our Saturday night opening act. She’s about ready to break into Nashville.”

She will be part of a triple threat on the final night of the fair and rodeo. Waller area band Bout to Git Western will play for the fifth straight year at the Wagon Wheel, then Watson will hit the stage after the final bull bucks at in the rodeo arena. She’ll dress the stage for Easton Corbin, the crescendo to this year’s entertainment. Corbin has had two chart-topping hits, “A Little More Country Than That” and “Roll With It.”

“Easton Corbin broke attendance records in 2010, and we expect a similar crowd this year,” Gaston said. “We’ve got some big names with hopes of drawing some big crowds. We’re pretty excited about our entertainment all the way around. We’ve worked hard and secured some good lineups, but I think this is one of the best lineups we’ve had in the five years I’ve been doing this.”