Fasten your seat belts: Tippin comes to town next month

COSHOCTON — Country star Aaron Tippin plans to ride the bus with his band mates when he visits town next month to headline the Coshocton County Fair.

Tippin could fly if he wanted. A licensed pilot and a certified instructor, he owns several planes, including the vintage 1946 Piper J-3 Cub he worked on intermittently during a recent telephone interview from his hangar in Liberty, Tennessee, east of Nashville. When he does fly himself to shows, he said, it’s usually in his 1984 Piper Malibu.

Last week, the ratcheting of a power driver punctuated pauses in the conversation as Tippin fastened down an aluminum seat to replace the J-3’s standard canvas sling.

“I meant to be in aviation,” he said. “God just threw me a bone.”

This year, Tippin is celebrating his 25th year as a country music recording artist with the release of “Aaron Tippin 25,” a two-disc set available only at performances or through his website: www.aarontippin.com. He’s also promoting that release at concerts.

“You can order it online, but I’d rather you came to the show and buy it, and I’ll sign it to thank you for 25 years of Aaron Tippin,” he said.

Tippin and his band will perform at 8 p.m. Oct. 4 at the grandstand during the Coshocton County Fair at the fairgrounds, 707 Kenilworth Ave. Fair admission costs $8 and does cover the concert. However, special track seats are available for $16, and qualify the buyer for a chance to win a guitar signed by Tippin and two passes to meet him after the show.

These days, he performs mostly on the weekends, and lives about 60 miles east of Nashville.

“Man, I can’t believe I made it this long,” he said. “It’s a thrill. It’s exciting we have 25 years to celebrate.”

His new release features 25 songs, including the hits “You’ve Got to Stand for Something,” “There Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong With the Radio,” “Working Man’s Ph.D.,” “That’s As Close As I’ll Get to Loving You” and “Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly.”

But it also includes some surprises: “The Way You Look Tonight,” perhaps best known as performed by Frank Sinatra, but also notably covered by Tony Bennett, Rod Stewart and Michael Buble; and his rendition of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together.”

“That’s my date music,” he said.

Tippin’s new release and his concerts feature rocking tunes, “plain-core country” and Gospel songs, he said, as well as autobiographical offerings.

The new recording shows “kind of the journey of Aaron Tippin’s life,” he said.

Fans who plan to hear him in Coshocton can expect up to 90 minutes of hits, covers and new tunes.

“Just like the past 25 years, wear your seat belt,” he said, “because I don’t just stand there. It’s going to be a fun night.”

jwilliams6@gannett.com

740-295-3417

Twitter: @JoeTribune

If You Go:

WHAT: Aaron Tippin in concert

WHEN: 8 p.m. Oct. 4

WHERE: Coshocton County Fairgrounds, 707 Kenilworth Ave., Coshocton

ADMISSION: $8 fair admission gains entry to the concert, too. Track seats are available for $16. Tickets are available at the fairgrounds office or online at: www.coshoctoncountyfair.org.

FYI: For more information, call 740-622-2385.