ABOVE: Rick Wright, left, and Christian Urbina take down the frame of a canopy tent that collapsed during Sunday’s rainfall at the 176th Canfield Fair...Staff photo / Andy Gray

CANFIELD — A torrential storm wasn’t going to stop Sam Hunt’s “House Party” at the Canfield Fair — but did delay it.

Heavy rains started about 5 p.m. Sunday, an hour before the grandstand was supposed to open for the country superstar.

The rain slowed before 7 p.m., and long lines wrapped around the grandstand waiting for word. The crowd let out a cheer at 7:45 p.m. when the gates finally opened. But it was long after Lily Rose, the first of two opening acts on the bill, was supposed to start her set.

Some children splashed in the puddles that formed on every flat surface at the fairgrounds, but most people gathered for shelter wherever they could find it.

A tornado warning for eastern Mahoning County was issued by the National Weather Service after the worst of the storm had passed through Canfield, and was lifted before 6:45 p.m.

Shortly afterward a flash flood warning was issued for Mahoning County.

Heavy rainfall that caused flooding to streets, parking lots and yards, and strong winds that knocked over trees and power lines were reported in parts of Boardman, Poland, Campbell, Struthers, and Lowellville.

Reports indicated severe weather north of U.S. Route 224 with many flooded areas. Route 224 between Locust Avenue to Glenwood Avenue, for example, was closed for a while.

On the fairgrounds about that time, Jeff Wright and Christian Urbina were working to pick up the Seven-Seventeen Credit Union canopy they were working at until it collapsed.

“There was too much water on the roof and it came down,” Wright said.

No one was under it when it fell.

The threat of rain clearly had an impact on Sunday fair attendance, but many of those who already had purchased tickets for the concert — which ranged from $42.50 to $125 — already were on site when the rain started.

Brandon Reymer from Ashland drove about 90 minutes to attend the show and arrived in the middle of the deluge.

“I thought for sure it would get canceled,” Reymer said. “We had tickets to see him at Blossom in 2020 when COVID hit. I thought this was going to get canceled too.”

Still, he never thought about turning around.

“Our attitude was, we gotta go until they actually cancel it,” he said

The entertainment began more than an hour late due to the water-logged track where floor seats had been set up. Opening act Lily Rose said her band would play an abbreviated set.

Hunt has two full-length albums, 2014’s “Montevallo” and 2020’s “Southside,” but the pair featured eight No. 1 country hits combined — “Leave the Night On,” “Take Your Time,” “House Party,” “Make You Miss Me,” “Body Like a Back Road,” “Kinfolks,” “Hard to Forget” and “Breaking Up Was Easy in the ’90s.” Seven of those songs also cracked the Top 40 on Billboard’s all-genre Hot 100 with “Body Like a Back Road” becoming a top 10 pop hit.

Nikki Mendez of Struthers and her friends bought tickets a month ago and were happy to hear the concert was going to happen.

“Rain or shine, it will be a good time if we’re all together,” Mendez said. ‘I just like country music. It’s got a good vibe for summer.”

John Fogerty and Hearty Har, a band featuring the former Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman’s children, will be the grandstand entertainment for the fan’s closing show tonight.

agray@tribtoday.com