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Sara Evans, Thompson Square receive standing ovations

Country music superstars Sara Evans and Thompson Square entertained the crowd Saturday night at the Magic Mile grandstand.

Both performances received standing ovations during the first night of grandstand entertainment at the 94th Du Quoin State Fair.

The Christian Rock band, Skillet, performed Sunday night. The entertainment continues throughout the week with Cinderella's Tom Keifer and Sebastian Bach Prices performing tonight; Kellie Pickler with Amelia Eisenhauer on Tuesday; Herman's Hermits starring Peter Noone on Wednesday; Aaron Lewis with Pat Green on Thursday; Jamey Johnson with Adam Wakefield Friday; racing on Saturday and Sunday with the USAC Silver Crown Series and ARCA Racing Series. Sugar Ray, Everclear, Lit and Sponge close the fair with their grandstand performances on Labor Day.

Numbers were not available for Saturday's performance, but the grandstand was packed. Evans told the full house that she and her husband have seven children between them and that all but one member of the family had been nursing strep throat. That didn't keep her, though, from performing on what many fans saw as a memorable night.

Evans has released eight albums, starting with her 1997 debut "Three Chords and the Truth." Her breakthrough was in 2000 with the double-platinum selling "Born to Fly." She told the fair audience that she is going back into the studio next month to begin recording a new album.

Thompson Square, wife and husband Shawna and Keifer Thompson, has topped the radio charts across the U.S. and Canada with No. 1 hits "Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not" and "If I Didn't Have You."

The band's resume includes six Top 20 hits to pair with its two U.S. and Canada No. 1s. Thompson Square's latest song, "Trans Am," officially hit country radio in 2015.