Are you going? Paul Simon to play fair

The Orange County Fair has announced its 2006 summer line-up, bringing the area one of its strongest ensembles of artists to date.

Topping the list is musical legend Paul Simon. Simon will be touring for his new release “Surprise” and organizers expect tickets to his July 28th concert to sell fast.

Promoters for the fair’s Pacific Amphitheatre also plan to book singer Michael Bolton, popular hip-hop troupe Gnarls Barkley and famed rocker Linda Ronstadt.

“We reopened in 2003 and we’ve been able to get some pretty big names since then,” organizer Jeff Wilson said.

The Orange County Fairgrounds is one of the only fair facilities in the state to have a full service music venue like the Pacific Amphitheatre, which can hold about 8,500 concert-goers.

It can be difficult to book popular performance acts at fairgrounds, Sullivan said, but his agency has spent most of the year trying to book music for a limited three-week run.

“A lot of the bands that played with us last year said they wanted to come back,” Pacific Amphitheatre producer John Sullivan said, pointing out that musician Chris Isaak and bands X and Maldita Vecindad are making returns.

The amphitheater reopened in 2003 after a seven-year hiatus. Neighbors had complained the facility was too noisy, so organizers trimmed 10,000 seats off the venue and said they were more careful about the bands they were asking to perform.

ON STAGE THIS SUMMER