Fair Board Entertainment Chairman Bob Schmuke said Cagle is a popular artist who will bring energy to the stage this year. He will play Saturday, July 11, at 9 p.m.

"We chose Chris Cagle because he has been around country music for a long time," Schmuke said. "He had a lot of hits and he has a new album coming out."

Cagle moved to Nashville in 1994 and his earliest songs were published by famed Nashville songwriter Harlan Howard. He later got a publishing deal and placed some of his songs with David Kersh.

His first single, "My Love Goes on and On" reached the country charts in July 2000 and made it to the Top 20. His first album, "Play It Loud," followed shortly later. The album made it onto country charts and one track "Laredo" made the country Top 40.

Cagle released a self-titled album in 2003 and "Anywhere but Here" in 2005. "My Life's Been a Country Song" was released last year.

"He's pretty popular in country music right now," said Schmuke. "We actually have been trying to get Chris for a few years - he has been on our list.

According to CMT.com, Cagle was born on Nov. 10, 1968, in DeRidder, La. When he was 4, his family moved to the outskirts of Houston. The son of an Exxon supervisor, Cagle began guitar lessons at age 6 but gave up after a year. He took piano lessons throughout high school and began playing guitar again after receiving an Ovation acoustic guitar for Christmas during his senior year. The first song he learned to play was Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird."

Cagle enrolled in the University of Texas-Arlington and many nights were spent performing in Texas clubs. He moved to Nashville in 1994, spending the next five years performing odd jobs.

His writing vastly improved after meeting writer Harlan Howard, who taught Cagle how to write a country song. Howard was so impressed with his student's efforts that he was the first to publish one of Cagle's songs.